


The Normal Boots Club Route

by mattielawson



Category: Asagao Academy: Normal Boots Club
Genre: Alternative route, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Mai route, Nightmares, all routes at once, heavily based on canon, spoilers for all routes, unrequited crushes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-09
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-10-30 00:31:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 26,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10865325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mattielawson/pseuds/mattielawson
Summary: It is believed by some that whomever the Protagonist asks to attend the Flower Festival shall have their Story unlocked. Hana breaks the unspoken rule and invites all of Normal Boots (and Mai) to the festival. The consequences of this choice lead to all the Normal Boots boys' routes to take place at once, and of course, chaos ensues as the routes battle for the right to tell their story. Which will win? Who claims Hana's heart? What is the true story that will unfold?





	1. The Flower Festival

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I'm super excited to share this story with you all. A lot of this will be directly lifted from or heavily influenced by lines in the game but hopefully I've given it enough of a twist and it should become less reliant on canon as the story progresses. I'm actually really happy with how this chapter came out so I hope you give it a chance and enjoy it too. I also made a mock-chapter card because i'm a gosh dang nerd.

“Oh, hey! It’s almost time for the Flower Festival.” The time had flown past so quickly, so much had happened already that Hana felt like the festival had snuck up on her.

“Have you decided who you’re taking yet?” Mai was sat at her desk and she swivelled in her chair to face Hana who was sat on her bed.

“Ah… er…” Hana felt like she could see all the possible choices fly in front of her eyes. Of course, she wanted to go to the festival and she certainly didn’t want to go alone, but picking one person meant consciously not picking someone else. She thought of all the Normal Boots Club members, she liked all of them and didn’t want to hurt any of their feelings. That was if any of them would even consider going with her.

Mai was looking at her expectantly but not pushing for an immediate answer. She knew important decisions like this took time.

Hana considered the boys in her life one by one. They were all some variation of nice in their own way, even Shane had seemed to warm up to Hana a little. Nice as they were, there was also something about each of them that made Hana wary and, to be honest, a little bit scared to go with any of them on their own.

“Well, I…” Hana’s gaze had drifted to look at her feet as she thought, watching them dangle off the side of her bed. She raised her eyes back up to look Mai in the eye and, at the moment their eyes locked, Hana made her decision.

“I want to go with the Normal Boots Club.”

Mai blinked at Hana a couple of times trying to process what her friend had just declared.

“What? All of them? You want to date all of them at once!?”

Hana felt her face flush at Mai’s suggestion.

“No! That’s not what I meant.” Hana shook her head vigorously. “I meant, I just, this probably sounds silly but I want to be better friends with all of them and I thought, I guess I thought it might be fun.”

Mai chuckled and shook her own head before replying.

“Well it’ll certainly be something, that’s for sure. You’ll manage to make it fun, you’re the main character for a reason after all.” She shrugged, her face looking pinched as if she was trying to hide something.

“Mai, uhm…” Hana hadn’t fully explained herself yet. There was one more person she wanted to go with.

“Yes, Hana?” Mai’s face seemed to perk up and she gave Hana a gentle, encouragingly smile.

“Will you also come with me?”

Mai had to take another moment for processing, this time her mouth opened and closed in the typical goldfish fashion.

“Oh!” Mai gasped, a broad smile taking over her mouth. “Of course! You’re my best friend, of course I’ll go with you!”

She sprang from her seat and launched herself in a hug-attack towards Hana. They both giggled as they fell back onto the bed.

“But how are you going to ask the whole club at once?” Mai lifted herself up onto her elbow and looked curiously at Hana. “The festival’s tomorrow, it’s not like you can wait long and if you ask them individually, they might, uh, get the wrong idea.”  
“Oh, I hadn’t really thought…” A million and one scenarios raced through Hana’s mind, each worse than the last. Maybe it would be easier if she just didn’t go?

Mai noticed the far-off look in Hana’s eyes and realised the fears she had accidentally instilled in Hana’s mind. She bounced onto her feet and placed her hands on her hips confidently.

“Hey, no worries! You’ve got me on your side, we’ll figure this out.” She smiled wide at Hana in an attempt to pass some of her confidence over to her. “We just need a plan and it just so happens I’m a master when it comes to plans and boys.”

A couple of carefully crafted texts later, and a hair full of paper cherry blossom petals, Hana found herself in front of the Normal Boots clubroom, Mai’s hand firmly, but reassuringly, pushing at her back.

“Go! Go on and get your man!” Mai whispered in her ear. “Well, men I suppose.”

“Mai…” There was a nervous tremor in her voice and in her hands but Mai simply beamed at her.  
“No time to talk, Hana. This is going to be your big day. Like I told you, you’re a main character. Unless you messed up real badly, you’ll definitely get a good answer.”

Once again, Hana wished she shared the confidence Mai had in her.

“I’ve messed up a lot though…”

“You managed to ask me okay!” Mai reminded her. “Now, just go!”

With a final shove, Hana found herself in the clubroom.

All the eyes in the room immediately locked onto her and any hints of conversation immediately dropped from the boys’ lips. Not for the first time today Hana thought about running away and giving up on this silly idea all together.

“Uh, hi…” Hana started, her lip wobbling precariously.

“Hana!” Jirard beamed at her. Her eyes flickered across the faces in front of her and she was relieved to see more smiles than frowns. “What did you want to talk to us about? Mai made it sound urgent.”

“Oh, well, I um…” Hana frowned as the words kept stumbling out of her mouth. She closed her eyes and breathed in a deep breath. “Willyougototheflowerfestivalwithme?”

She resisted the urge to clap her hands over her mouth, holding her hands firmly at her sides. At the looks of confusion and suspicion growing on the faces around her when she opened her eyes again, she figured she probably ought to clarify.

“What I mean is I, well, I’d really like to go as one big group. I want to be better friends with all of you and – it’s okay if you say no but – I just wanted to ask.”

“There’s no way we’d”-

“Of course, we’ll go! Right guys?” Jirard interrupted Shane’s dismissal with his big, bright smile and he turned to look at his friends.

“She’s already on the team, why should we have to go the festival with her?” Shane demanded, unimpressed at being interrupted.

Hana felt the tremble in her lips increase and she bit her lip to hold back the tears that threatened to spill at Shane’s harsh words. She was prepared for him to be difficult but it still hurt for him to be so distrusting as she stood right in front of him.

PBG, noticing Hana’s discomfort, stepped in.  
“You don’t have to go anywhere Shane.” PBG said to Shane before turning to face Hana, a soft smile on his face. “I’ll happily go with you Hana.”

“Well that makes three of us.” Satch piped up, moving to stand next to PBG. “Who else wants to join us?”

The change from it being just “Hana” to an “us” made Hana’s heart swell. It also made everyone else agree to join fairly quickly. Some joined more begrudgingly than others but Satch and Jirard were a difficult duo to say no to.

“What’s the plan then?” Paul asked, clapping his hands together. His presidential side coming out as he took charge.

The details were worked out with relative ease and they then all bid their goodbyes to head back to Bluebell House. Hana was about to follow suit and head back to her room to tell Mai the good news, when a hand on her arm stopped her from leaving. She turned to see who it was and found Shane looking equal parts miffed and sheepish. If she didn’t know any better she might have thought he looked flustered.

“Shane?” Hana ventured carefully. They were the only two left in the clubroom and Hana didn’t feel completely comfortable given Shane’s reaction earlier.

“Look, I’m fine joining everyone to go to the festival or whatever,” he wasn’t looking Hana in the eye and a frown was firmly etched on his face. “But if I’m going to do that for you, I should at least get something out of this deal.”

“Deal?” It was Hana’s turn to frown “What do you mean?”

“Just meet me outside Primrose house at five, got it?

Without waiting for a reply, he marched out the room and left Hana to blink slowly at the space he left behind.

Why would Shane want to meet her earlier? Surely if anything he’d want to spend less time with Hana, what was this about? It was unlikely she was going to get any answers until tomorrow so, with that, she finally headed back to Primrose House.

 

* * *

 

Hana didn’t sleep well that night, a mixture of excitement and anxiety bubbling up inside her. She’d tried to keep her worries to a minimum – a difficult task – but they started to spill out when the afternoon rolled around.

“Maybe he wants to confess his undying love for you?” Mai proposed helpfully. Hana glared at her, unconvinced, and Mai let out an uproarious laugh.

“What if he wants to stop me from going to the festival? What if… he kills me?”

“Oh Hana, I know you’re worried but even Shane wouldn’t go that far.” Her smiled faltered for a second as she added doubtfully: “Probably.”

“Mai.” Hana growled. By all accounts, it could not be considered vicious, but it got her point across regardless.

“I’m sorry.” Mai sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose before flashing Hana her trademark grin. “Look, let’s forget about Mr Stoic for a sec and let’s get ready!”

She jumped excitedly across her room and flung head first into her drawers trying to find the perfect outfit. Jared was going to be there after all.

Hana was surprised by how much time it took to get ready. The afternoon disappeared in a flash and before Hana knew it, five o’clock was fast approaching.

“You look so cute!” Mai squealed looking at Hana who was adjusting her yukata “Those Normal Boots boys are going to be falling over themselves to spend time with you at the festival.”

“Sure Mai.” Hana deadpanned, completely unimpressed. Mai laughed and stepped towards Hana to tuck a strand of hair that had fallen out of place. However, her hand froze halfway to Hana’s face. “Mai?”

Mai snatched back her hand and quickly moved away from Hana.

“Goodness, it’s got to be almost five huh?” Mai’s eyes flittered around the room, she turned around to the mirror and made herself busy checking her makeup in the mirror. “You don’t want to keep Shane waiting. He’s not nice when he’s trying to be, let alone when he’s angry.”

Hana looked at the clock and gasped.

“Shit.” She whispered. She hurriedly grabbed her bag and gave herself one last look in the mirror. “You sure I look okay?”

Mai’s eyes locked with hers for a second in the mirror. A soft smile spread across her lips.

“You look great Hana, really.”

“Thanks Mai.” Hana smiled back and suddenly felt very emotional. She blinked rapidly to stop herself from crying and took a deep breath, the air making a whooshing noise as she breathed out forcefully. “See you later!”

“Good luck!” Mai called back as Hana rushed out the room.

They weren't the most reassuring words but Hana kept herself moving so she wouldn’t overthink everything and talk herself out of going.

As she stepped outside, the late afternoon light bright in her eyes, Hana was relieved to see Shane hadn’t arrived before she had. She still couldn’t figure out what this “something” was that Shane wanted from her in exchange for his company. She watched the sun as it lazily crawled across the sky, her stomach filled with butterflies thinking about the evening that lay ahead of her.

So caught up in her own thoughts, she didn’t notice Shane walking over.

“Hana!” Shane snapped her back to reality.

“What?!” Hana yelped. “Oh Shane, it’s you.”

“Yeah, it’s me, who else?” He shuffled in place “You ready to go?”

“Go? What’re we”-

“Let’s go get this over with. I’d like to do this before it starts getting dark.”

“Sure, just”- Hana was the one to stop herself this time. “Wait no, what’s going on? I’m not going to just follow you blindly.”

“I’ll explain once we’re there.” Shane said turning to walk away. He turned back after realising Hana wasn’t following. “Look I promise I won’t kill you, let’s just get going.”

Hana squinted at him, he flushed slightly under her scrutiny.

“Fine.” Hana huffed, crossing her arms. “But you better be a perfect gentleman at the festival for this.”

He made a non-committal noise of agreement as he turned again. He led the way through the campus, the stillness in the air only emphasising the anxiety gnawing at Hana’s gut. She was not a fan of all this mystery. More than once, Hana thought Shane was about to say something but he remained unnervingly silent.

After what felt like a lifetime, he finally stopped at a bench and gestured for Hana to sit. She did, though not without first noting how deserted this part of campus was.

Shane set down a small backpack that had been slung over his shoulder and sat down on the other side of the bench. He cleared his throat and stared down at his hands.

“Truth be told, I’ve wanted to do this for a while.” Was he blushing? What on earth was he talking about?

“Uhm, what?”

He let out a ragged sigh, unzipped his backpack and pulled out a sketch book.

“I told you I have trouble drawing girls, and here you are, with a girl face, and I figured if I had to go with you and the guys anyway I might as well make use of it.”

“You wanted to make use of my face?”

“I want to draw it, yeah, is that okay?” His blush had grown as he talked but it was beginning to die down again. “You’re going to have to sit without moving for about 45 minutes.”

“Sure, fine. I agreed to this I guess.” As this turn of events finally caught up on her she felt a blush of her own growing on her cheeks. Being drawn by someone who hadn’t been the nicest to her wasn’t going to be the most comfortable experience but it was still a lot more attention than she was used to.

Shane flipped through a few pages before finding a suitable blank page and then began to work. He didn’t talk much as he did so, the scratches of the pencil the only sound. Twenty, slightly awkward minutes later, the light changed. The sun was finishing its journey across the sky and was setting in the west. Shane frowned and held the sketchpad away from his face, appraising his work.

“I guess that’ll do. Can’t really do much more in this light anyway.”

“Can I see it?” Hana asked. She figured it was only fair, it was her face after all.

“Uh, well”-

“Nice work Shane, your use of texture is great as always.” Shane jumped as the sound of Satch’s voice suddenly appeared behind him.

“Satch!” Hana grinned at him while Shane’s blush came back. He quickly shoved the sketchpad back in his bag.

“What’re you doing here?” Shane grumbled.

“I could ask you two the same thing.” He chuckled, dimples in his cheeks. “Besides, it’s rude to keep a lady waiting.”

Shane rolled his eyes.

“You’ve been spending too much time with Jared.” Shane said as he got up from the bench, swinging the backpack over his shoulder. “We should probably head back to Primrose.”

“Don’t want anyone else to know about your secret rendezvous?” Satch teased. Hana reddened at the implication but Shane just scoffed.

“I don’t want people thinking that kind of tripe, yes.” His trademark scowl was back as he trudged towards Primrose house. Hana laughed at the ridiculous face he was making.

“How did you find us?” Hana asked as the two of them followed Shane at a more leisurely pace.

“A magician never reveals his secrets.” Satch said as he tapped the side of his nose. He laughed as Hana scowled at the answer. “It was a coincidence to be honest.”  
Hana wasn’t completely convinced but she couldn’t think of any other explanation so she just nodded. The conversation gradually slowed between them. Hana watched as the blossom gently fell from the trees.  
Satch stopped as they passed the trees and delicately picked a flower from one of the lower hanging branches.

“For you.” He said with that warm smile of his. He held out the flower to Hana. “It matches your hair.”

“Oh! Thank you…” She grabbed it, unsure what to do with it. She reached up uncertainly to the back of her head, maybe she could put it in her hair? She couldn’t quite feel where her bow was tied, made more difficult by walking at the same time, so she couldn’t figure out where to put it in.

“Would you like me to help you? Satch said with a chuckle.

“Was it that obvious I was struggling?” Hana asked. They both laughed and Hana decided to just tuck the flower behind her ear. If she let her anxiety talk too much it could have seemed like she was being laughed at but Satch but, while not the most open person, he was definitely too kind for something like that.

“Took you long enough to get here.” Shane muttered. Hana was almost surprised to see him again, a part of her was sure he’d run off as soon as he got the chance.

“Hey!” PBG’s bright voice burst through the quickly darkening evening. Hana jumped, she was still a little bit on edge.

“You’re here!” Hana smiled and PBG beamed at her.

“Didn’t bring Jon with you?” Shane asked. PBG looked a little sheepish.

“I got ready a bit quicker is all.” PBG said, his lip jut out in a pout. His focus then switched to the other early birds. “You two are a bit early.”

Hana felt his suspicion was more aimed at Shane. He was being somewhat tolerable at the moment and it would be unfortunate if he got wound up this early in the night.

“Oh look, here comes Paul!” Hana diverted everyone’s attention and, sure enough, Paul was strolling over, one hand in his pocket, with Nick and Josh behind him looking to be in some kind of argument.

“S’up?” Paul greeted, a lazy smile on his lips.

“Hey guys!” Hana replied. Nick and Josh stopped their argument when they saw her.

“Hana… you look…” Josh had the hint of a blush on his face.

“Amazing! Really good!” Nick finished. Josh shot Nick a glare, but Nick didn’t seem to notice.

“Uh, thanks!” Hana said shyly, her hands fidgeting nervously with the sleeve of her yukata.

“Well!” PBG sprung forward to stand next Hana, all too aware of her unease. “We should probably be going soon, who are we waiting for?”

Hana was grateful for PBG for diverting the attention away from her. It had been getting a bit overwhelming.

“Your roommate for starters.” Shane huffed at PBG. He then nodded to Satch and Hana. “And both of yours.”

“What about Jirard?” Hana asked. “If we’re mentioning roommates.”

“He said he’s going to meet us at the festival.” Shane shrugged, unconcerned. “He was busy planning something.”

There was a murmuring of exasperated sighs and a dozen or so rolled eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Hana pressed, feeling more than a little out of the loop.

“He’s probably going full completionist.” The dulcet tones of Jared pierced through the group. “I’m sorry I’m late Hana I”-

“What is up everybody!” Before Jared could say another word, Mai burst through the door of Primrose house almost knocking over Shane who had been leaning on the wall next to the door.

Hana was of course more than happy that Mai had arrived but she didn’t miss the look on Jared’s face as she did so. It was a mix of irritation and disdain with just an added dash of something else that Hana could only describe as… horror?

“Are we ready to go?” Mai asked as she slung an arm around Hana, somewhat protective of her as she stood surrounded by a gaggle of boys.

“We’re just waiting for”- PBG began before stopping himself and waving enthusiastically. “Jon’s here! Let’s get going!”

The group began to make its way along the path on the way out of campus. Noticing them making a move, Jon upped his pace a little to catch.

“Geez guys, thanks for waiting.” His voice was breathless and laced with sarcasm.

“Dude, shouldn’t have been late!” Paul quipped.

The banter continued as they walked along. Hana and Mai stuck together as they made their way to the festival, still not fully integrated into the group with their years of inside jokes and shared stories. The familiar feeling of anxiety began to build in Hana’s stomach but looking around and seeing nothing but smiling faces eased the tension in her chest. Even Shane seemed to be smiling when Hana caught a glimpse of his face as he turned to talk to Jared. It wasn’t long until Hana could hear the beating of drums and the laughter and calls coming from the crowded festival.

“Hey, do we have any idea what we’re going to do once we get there?” Jon piped up from the back of the group.

“Well there’s the bonfire”-

“There’s this great cake stall”-

“There’s crane games”-

Mai slapped her forehead and Hana giggled as the Continue trio started to argue their points.

“Oh, shut up.” Shane shut down the squabbling. “Jirard’ll have it covered.”

“Yeah but he’s not”-

“Hey guys!” Everyone turned to see Jirard bounding towards them, not unlike an excited puppy.

“It’s rude to keep a lady, uh, ladies, waiting, Jirard.” Jared teased.

“Oh, I’m sorry I’m late but this is the reason why…” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a weathered-looking scroll, unrolling it with a flourish.

“What the?”

“Ta-da!” Jirard cheered. At the looks of confusion from all save for Shane, he explained: “Well you see, realising it was Hana’s first time at the festival, I made a list of all the most important places we should visit.”

“But that list’s so long!” Mai exclaimed.

“Of course! The truth is that they’re all important, so they’re all on here. But they’re listed in order of most interesting, so we’ll hit the most important areas first!”

“J-Jirard… that’s so kind of you…” Hana stuttered, pleased but more than a little overwhelmed by Jirard’s act of kindness.

“I bet it was no trouble for you, right Jirard?” Jared put an arm around his friend as if showing off how great he was.

“Right! I wanted to do it.” He grinned, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

“So, what’s first?”

Top of Jirard’s list was a statue in the middle of the festival. People kept getting distracted by the stalls along the way so it wasn’t a direct trip. Hana had felt her legs begin to ache when she’d seen Jirard’s list but she got the feeling they’d be lucky to get even a tenth of the way through it.

The statue was of a small woman with a flower-inspired design. She stood with her hands clasped and her gaze looking out happily over the festival denizens. To her right, even smaller than her, was an old man whittling wood. He was leaning against her, a smile on his face.

“Dude!” Paul exclaimed. “I’ve never seen this before!”

“It’s beautiful!” Hana gasped.

“Isn’t it?” Jirard chuckled. “They put it in the middle of the festival every year but most people are too busy and they end up walking right past it.”

“Guilty.” Mai said with a smirk.

“As you can tell,” Jirard continued, acting much like he had when he had given Hana her campus tour. “This is the Flower Spirit and the man who loved her. They’re both here to watch over the town in secret.”

“It’s bittersweet, isn’t it?” Jared sighed wistfully. “Even after his death, he still stands by her side.”

“Eh, whatever.” Jon snorted. “If you’re done sightseeing I’m getting something to eat.”

“Thinking with your stomach as usual.” Jacques piped up from Jon’s shoulder. Hana jumped a little, having forgotten about Jacques.

“I don’t need your sass.” Jon hissed as he left the group without waiting to see if anyone was joining him.

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t get lost.” PBG said, a look of annoyance flashed across his face for a moment but his cheerful demeanour quickly came back. “See you in a bit!”

Hana waved absentmindedly, her focus still lost on the Flower Spirit. Her smile seemed familiar somehow and Hana couldn’t quite place it.

“Hmm, food could be good.” Mai agreed, “What do you think Hana?”

“Huh?” She blinked back to reality. Her stomach let out a rumbling, half due to hunger and part due to the nerves that had worked themselves into her gut.

“Sounds good to me.” Satch said, his smiling as warm and calming as ever. “Come on – how about we try the taikyaki!”

The remaining boys joined the girls as they headed to the taikyaki line. The size of the group made manoeuvring a little clumsy and they lost the Continue trio as Josh dragged Paul and Nick to the flower cake stand he had been so keen to visit. This left six of them as they joined the queue. On their approach, they spotted two familiar people.

“Hey, isn’t that…” Hana started.

“Hey guys!” The cheerful greeting of Wallid rang out.

“Fancy meeting you lot at the taikyaki booth.” Caddy said, a smile on his lips that didn’t quite reach his eyes as he took in the Normal Boots members.

“Taiyaki is the best after all.” Mai added.

“How’s tournament prep going?” Satch interjected.

“It’s actually going really”-

“Fine!” Caddy snapped, his eyes darted towards Jared who had been hanging back and Wallid’s mouth closed shut with an audible pop.

“Oh right, yeah, we shouldn’t be talking about this.” Wallid mumbled, a little downtrodden. Caddy pulled him towards him and whispered something in his ear. Hana squinted at them suspiciously and turned to Mai who just shrugged.

“Normal Hidden Block behaviour.” She muttered.

“You what?!” Wallid yelped and everyone’s attention snapped back to him. Caddy made furious shushing noises before whispering in Wallid’s ear again.

“What’s the hold up?” Shane pushed his way to the front of the group to see Caddy and Wallid conspiring. After taking in the scene he stated simply: “Oh, it’s these chucklefucks.”

Hana looked at Shane in alarm but all she saw were the massive grins that were on Shane and Wallid’s faces.

“I’m surprised to see out, you social vampire.”

“I got, uh, forced.” He looked away and Wallid looked raised an eyebrow.

“And with girls no less,” A cheeky smirk crossed his face. “Didya tell these ladies the last time you went out with a girl you choked on a piece of candy and almost died?”

Shane glared daggers at him as Caddy broke down into hysterics.

“I thought you were the one who choked on a jawbreaker, Wallid?” Satch pointed out.

“Oh, right!” Wallid said, somehow surprised. Hana couldn’t imagine forgetting such an experience. He turned then to stage-whisper to Mai. “Because Shane doesn’t ever go out with girls.”

Mai made a faux-scandalised face before joining Caddy in the chuckle corner. Shane turned beet red and smacked Wallid’s arm.

“Hah, relax Shane.” Satch said, placing a hand on Shane’s arm. He gestured to the hidden block members, “It’s your turn to order food, guys.”

Taiyaki orders were placed and then Hana realised they had lost another group member.

“Where did Jirard go?”

“Huh?” Shane whipped his head and sure enough Jirard was out of sight.

“Oh, no worries.” Jared slid into the conversation, standing between Mai and Shane. “He was getting antsy waiting in the queue so he went to get all the other important food-stuffs that were on his list.”

Shane rolled his eyes but it was clear he didn’t think ill of his friend’s enthusiasm.

“So, uh,” Mai stuttered, her cheeks aflame with Jared standing so close. Jared noticed his proximity and not-so-subtly moved away an inch. “What’s next?”

“Shane, dear,” Jared draped an arm over his friend. “This is your first festival, right?”

“Oh!” Hana said “Because we’re both transfer students.”

“Not exactly, this is the second festival I’ve been around for, but it is the first one I’ve gone to.”

“Then the festival-virgin gets to decide!” Jared cheered. Shane flushed again and looked like he was going to complain but isn’t he let out a weary sigh.

“Let’s go to the ring throwing booth.” He said. “I’m good at that.”

He pointed out a deserted booth hidden in an awkward spot and headed over. Satch and Jared shared a confused look before following, Hana and Mai close behind. Mr. Saitomo peered out from behind the counter, a wry, but slightly tired, smile on his face. Shane already had a ring in his hand by the time he was joined by the rest of his party. Shane had a sly smile on his face as if he was trying to act cooler than he already was.

“You ready to watch a pro?” Shane was even puffing his chest out to add to the effect.

“Bold words my friend.” Jared said. He couldn’t hold in a laugh as Shane threw his first ring and missed completely.

“A pro, huh?” Mai snickered.

“Keep watching.” Shane said with an indignant frown. The frown quickly turned to a smug grin as he threw his second ring and it landed perfectly around the bottle furthest away. There was a collective gasp from all the spectators, including Mr. Saitomo who also seemed surprised someone had actually won.

“What prize do you want, boy?” Mr. Saitomo asked, once the reality of the win had set in.

“Uh, hang on.” Shane turned to his friends. “Anyone got any requests?”

They looked at the prizes that covered the walls of the stall, a mixture of plushies and other toys like plastic toys and candy. A stuffed whale caught Hana’s eye, a blue plushie with the ability to squirt water out of its mouth.

She wanted to ask for it but suddenly paralysed by an all too familiar sense of fear. What if she seemed greedy? What if the others thought her choice was childish? Mai spotted the tell-tale signs of Hana’s anxiety and, having followed her gaze, quickly spoke up on her friend’s behalf.

“How about that stuffed whale?” She said, pointing at it with a grin. Hana looked at her with her mouth slightly agape but Mai just smiled at her brightly, trying to communicate that everything was okay using only her eyes.

“Sure.” Shane said, seemingly unbothered by whatever happened to be chosen.

Mr. Saitomo set up a step ladder to get the whale.

“Anyone else want a go?”

“Awh Shane, did you get me a present?” Jon suddenly appeared, Jacques holing a piece of dango in his beak.

“It’s not for you, ass.” Shane said, quickly handing it to Hana to get it out of Jon’s grabbing hands. Jon attempted to give him puppy eyes but Shane levelled his classic glare at him. Jon had still been accompanied by PBG, whose eyes narrowed at the whale clasped to Hana’s chest.

“Do you like it?” Hana asked, presenting the soft toy to him “Shane won it.”

“It’s cute.” He said, his eyes briefly flickering to meet Hana’s. Seeing PBG at the ring toss stall made her remember a five-year-old who had also tried to impress her with their “pro skills”. She shook her head to bring herself back to the present. Apparently, Jon an PBG had seen Continue over by the crane games and with no other current plans, the group went to join them.

Hana balked when she turned the corner to see the fabled crane games. It astounded her that a village as tiny as Higanbana somehow managed to gather together enough power strips for an entire block of crane games on the outskirts of town. The group immediately fanned out, all clamouring for a chance to win one of the prizes locked behind the games glassy confines.

Nick looked up as Hana walked down the alley, looking more than a little dazed.

“Perfect timing Hana!” Nick shouted. He waved her over and she happily obliged. Josh and Paul smiled as she came over and she returned their smiles.

The crane game there were in front of was a bright pink number full of a variety of soft plush animals with smiling faces and round eyes. Nick dug deep in his pockets and dug out several coins, it seemed he’d been helplessly playing for a while.

“Okay, Hana.” His face was set in grim determination. “I’m gonna need your absolute help. This one’s timer is a little fast, so you need to squeeze into that gap in the side of the machine and tell me how far back to push the crane to get that little puppy there.”

He pointed at brown, confused looking puppy and Hana couldn’t help but smile at its face.

“Can’t you see it yourself?” Hana asked innocently.

“Ah, but the glass is warped so you can’t tell your positioning! The oldest trick in the book.” He nodded sombrely. If Hana didn’t know better she might have been concerned whether Nick had a gambling habit. She returned the nod, passed the whale she was still clutching for Josh to look after, and then carefully slotted herself between the pink machine and another, deep red one.

“Go!” Nick shouted and he force the crane forward and to the left, face so far forward his breath was forming a cloudy patch on the glass.

“Where am I?” He asked, his voice much calmer than Hana expected.

“U-uhm, go to the right a bit more?” Hana stuttered under the pressure

“Here?”

“Further!”

“Here?!”

“Wait, go back a bit!”

“We’re almost out of”- His face was getting more severe but he was cut off by the crane descending. It grabbed at the lonely puppy’s torso and for a moment Hana thought they’d succeeded.

“It got it!” Hana grinned.

“No.” Nick’s face was cold in the face of Hana’s warm smile. “Watch.”

Hana did watch. She watched as the crane lifted up and then watched with widening eyes as the weight of the puppy’s giant head pulled him out of the claw. She watched in disappointed silence as the claw floated back to the hole, dropping a grand total of nothing as their prize. An awkward silence passed between them. Paul cleared his throat.

“Well, if two are done with this riveting performance”-

“No!” Hana insisted. “Again.”

“What?” Paul asked, confusion raising his eyebrows.

“That’s the spirit, Hana!” Nick pumped a fist in the air before resuming his position at the helm of the crane.

In the end, it took Nick seven more turns to pull that little puppy out of the crane and by the seventh turn the whole club was gathered around and cheering them on. When it finally dropped into the hole, Hana screamed like a banshee and quickly removed herself from the gap between the machines. Mai was waiting for her and she took Hana’s hands and bounced up and down in excitement.

“It’s just a stupid puppy.” Josh grumbled. Mai and Hana turned to glare at him simultaneously and everyone else laughed.

“Hana,” Nick began, a blush had creeped across his cheeks. Hana walked over to him and gave him a quick hug.

“We did it!” She squealed. Nick chuckled, looked over Hana’s shoulder for a second and quickly took a step back. Hana was about to turn to find out what Nick had seen but suddenly the puppy was being thrust into her arms.

“I won it for you.” Nick explained.

“What? No I couldn’t…”

“I couldn’t have won it without you.” Nick let go of the puppy and Hana quickly caught it before it could fall. “Just take it!”

He then backed away another five paces, taking a sudden and intense interest in a tiny flower on the side of the road.

“Anyway!” PBG interjected, grabbing Hana by the shoulders. “What next?”

Jirard had found all while they’d been hanging around the crane games and he was quick to take the lead again. He shared out the food he’d collected, a wider selection than Hana could have imagined, Hana beat everyone at cork shooting game, they saw jugglers and acrobats and a dozen or so other activities.

Hana had lost count of the number of stalls they visited when she became distracted by a kid standing next to a tank of goldfish, imitating their movements. He was cute but after a few seconds, the kid began to look sad. It was then that Hana had looked up and realised she had been left behind, everyone so caught in the festival crowds. She immediately began worrying at her lip when she saw a familiar face make its way over to the little kid, kneeling next to him. It was Satch. He stood up and held three fingers out to the man behind the goldfish tank. The man handed Satch three paper thin paddles and Satch passed them to the child, coaching them through catching a goldfish. It took all three paddles but finally the boy could lift the paddle with a fish. The man bagged the goldfish and Satch gave it to the little making a gesture that suggested ‘Don’t shake the bag.’ The boy hugged Satch and Hana smiled at how precious the scene was.

It was then that Satch looked up and made a similar realisation that Hana had earlier, their group was nowhere in sight. His eyes lit up when he spotted Hana and he quickly made his way to her side.

“That was really nice of you.” Hana said, the words slipping out.

“What? Oh, you saw that?” Satch was smiling broadly. “I would’ve wanted the same thing so I just had to help him. Kid knew a lot about fish too.”

“That’s really sweet!” Hana replied, less embarrassed to be complimenting Satch a second time.

“Awh, I’m glad you think so.” His smile was warm and Hana thought his cheeks looked warm too.

“My turn!” Hana declared, heading over to the goldfish.

“It is probably best we stay in the same place if we want to be found again, especially due to the poor phone reception in this area.” Satch nodded thoughtfully. “Guess I’ll have to help you too then.”

Hana was practically bouncing as she traded her money for the paper paddles. The old man running the stall laughed and Hana blushed little. She gazed across the pool full of fish, trying to decide which to go for.

“Why don’t you go for that little guy?” Satch suggested, noticing Hana’s hesitation.

“Oh, he’s cute!” Hana beamed. She wondered for a moment whether the fish would even want to come home with her, but she shook her head. The evening had shown her that good things happened with determination and a smile, even more so with a little help from a friend.

“So I just…?” Hana began cautiously, dipping her paddle into the cool water.

The first paddle broke as soon as she tried to pull a fish out of the water but with some advice from Satch, she was ready to try again. She was about to dip the paddle in the water when a hand was on her shoulder and she jumped, dropping the paddle into the water.

“Oh no…” Hana despaired at the paddle sat at the bottom of the pool.

“I’m so happy we found you, I, uh, we were so worried!” Hana turned to find herself face to face with PBG, closer than Hana had anticipated.

“Oh!” Hana yelped, almost falling back into the water before Satch held an arm around her to keep her balanced. PBG’s eyes narrowed and he took Hana by the wrist to pull her up. “PBG, what…?”

Mai was behind him looking relieved and she could see the rest of the Normal Boots boys dotted around.

“Hana, I…” he let go of her wrist and ran a hand through his hair. “Can I talk to you? In, uh, private?”

Hana looked from PBG to Mai who reflected Hana’s confusion in her eyes. Mai shrugged and Hana nodded carefully. PBG gently lead her to a slightly more secluded area, it was as private as one could hope for at a busy festival.

“What’s up?” Hana asked, more than a little apprehensive. When someone asked to talk about something in private it was rarely a good thing. The look on PBG’s face wasn’t alleviating her concerns.

“Well…” He shifted a little, his fingers fidgeting with the buttons on his shirt. “Did I…”

He started but stopped, the words falling from his grasp. He looked at Hana with that confused frown he’d worn when she had first arrived in his class.

“Did you…?” Hana prompted to get him to continue. Confusion was bubbling through the apprehension in her gut and the longer PBG looked at her like that the more her worries melded into fear.

“Did I...” his words faltered again but he took in a deep breath and continued. “Did I look familiar when we first met?”

“I…” Hana couldn’t remember much of her first day, the memories had all been thrown around in the hurricane of events that had happened so quickly after. But, Hana did have a vague recollection of something. It had felt like she had seen PBG somewhere before. “Wait, I think you did.”

“Really?!” PBG gasped like his entire world had just shifted, his face broke out into a wide smile. “So you’ll believe me when I tell you we’ve met before, right?”

Hana felt her stomach drop. He had looked familiar… but then again, he was also a tall guy with brown hair. She could have easily mistaken him for someone else.

“I’m… sorry.” She sighed, eyes darting away from his suddenly-too-bright face. “I can’t remember.”

Hana winced as PBG’s eyes fell to stare at the ground. All the light left his body as quickly as it had appeared.

“It’s okay! It was a long time ago.” He looked back up at Hana and the pain that was hiding behind his smile made Hana want to hug him. “Um… when you first showed up in class, you looked exactly like this girl I used to play with when I was little.”

“I’m”- Hana tried to offer an apology, some small consolidation to act as a balm for this wound she’d accidentally inflicted but PBG continued regardless.

“She would come over to my house, and we’d play video games together.” His mask of a smile slowly falling away. “Then you mentioned something like that at the Stomp match, so I thought…”

“There was a little boy from my past, but…” Hana searched through her mind but it was like walking through fog, she had no idea where to go to find what she was looking for.

“But…?” PBG’s face looked almost desperate and that just made the truth of the matter harder to say.

“Well, ever since… the accident…” Hana swallowed thickly, the air feeling like tar.

“Accident?!”

“When I was 11, I bumped my head getting out of the shower. I spent three days in the hospital with amnesia.” She shuddered at the memory. “Most of my memories came back in a few weeks, but, well, the memories of the little boy I used to play with… only a few of those came back. I still can’t remember his name or his face, so if I am the little girl from your past”-

“You’re her!” PBG said, clearing the distance between them and taking both of her hands in his own. “I know you’re her! You’re Hana. You were my best friend when we were little.”

The fog was still filling Hana’s brain. She watched helplessly as PBG’s smile grew wide and bright again.

“You would only user the blue controller for the Gintendo 64 because you said it gave you powers like a Power Stranger, and you made me use the green one because you said it matched my eyes.” His smile had softened and a blush spread across his face that reached his ears.

Hana felt the guilt start to crawl up her spine. She stared at him for a long time, frantically searching his face. There was something about him that was familiar, something that made her feel oddly at home and comfortable. She begged for the fog in her head to lift but if the memories were lost somewhere within it, they were too far gone to reach no matter how long she searched.

“I’m sorry…”

“Your favourite game was Screw You, Pikachomp and we would take turns making up insults, making him dance, and we called him Rodrigo.” His voice was more forceful, as if, if he wanted this enough he could force Hana to remember. “You’d cry when I’d hit the chickens in Coocooriko Village when we played Zilda.”

There was nothing Hana could say. She didn’t remember.

“I know it’s you…” He sighed, his whole body sagging under the weight of his disappointment.

Hana shook her head, the guilt wrapping its hands tightly around her throat. She didn’t remember, couldn’t remember.

Slowly, as if she would disappear completely if he moved too fast, he let go of her hands, dropping his arms to his sides in defeat.

“PBG…” The words fell feebly from her lips.

“No.” PBG said, his words devoid of their earlier force. “I want you to call me by my real name.”

“Your… real name?”

He clenched his fist, his lip trembling ever so slightly.

“My real name is… PeanutButterGamer.”

“Oh my god.” Hana squealed, feeling like she’d just been blinded by the brightest light in the world yet, thanks to its light, she could finally see clearly again. She took a step back and looked at him again as if for the first time that night. Memories of their time together washed over her as the fog in her head finally lifted.

“Oh my god, PeanutButterGamer!” She could feel tears pricking at her eyes she was so happy. “I remember now!”

“You do?!”

“Yes! Oh my god, you’re so different!” she grabbed his hands and found herself jumping for joy.

“Woah, what’s going on?!” Mai looked at her bouncing friend.

“Mai!” Hana grinned at her. “PBG and I used to be best friends!”

“Wait, what?” Jon looked at PBG disbelievingly. Hana looked around to see the rest of the Normal Boots club had gathered around having heard her shouting. She blushed slightly, embarrassed, she quickly let go of PBG’s hands and wiped the stray tears from her eyes.

“Dude, did you make Hana cry?” Paul was at Hana’s side, Nick and Josh standing behind her protectively. They all gave PBG the stink-eye, as if they hadn’t been the first of the club to make her cry.

No, it’s not like that, Hana and I, we used to be friends as kids.” the words were tumbling out of his mouth, the excitement at his discovery still glittering in his eyes. “But then she moved away, I lost her contact information, she had an accident and lost her memory”-

“She what?” Shane interrupted.

“I had amnesia after a nasty fall.” Hana explained. “I’m sorry PBG, I was treating you like a complete stranger this whole time.”

“Eh, it’s no problem. Amnesia, it happens!” He dismissed the apology with a wave of his hand.

“What?!” Mai yelled. “No it doesn’t, what the hell?”

Hana giggled, she was right, the whole situation sounded made up after all. Soon everyone was laughing at how ridiculous their story was. PBG was blushing, flustered at the teasing that was already ensuing but he still looked incredibly happy.

Hana caught sight of a flash of something black and turned to see Satch proudly holding a bag with a little black goldfish swimming inside.

“You caught one!” Hana said. Satch nodded and smiled at her but he was distracted by his conversation with Jared. Jared looked, upset? Hana couldn’t quite tell from where she stood in the middle of the foray but she could tell from his posture he was at least uncomfortable.

“Let’s head to the bonfire!” Paul shouted. He was answered by cheers from the rest of the boys surrounding him. Jared and Satch turned back to look at the group and Hana quickly looked away so they wouldn’t catch her staring.

The group slowly but surely made their way to the bonfire. Jared was hanging back looking awkward and strangely out of place. Hana quietly drifted to the back of the group, despite PBG’s enthusiasm to catch up.

“Hey Jared.” Hana said, making Jared jump.

“Oh, hey Hana!” He made a smile that was so obviously forced it hurt to look at.

“You doing okay?” Hana asked. Jared opened his mouth as if to quickly dismiss her concerns but on seeing the worry in her face he hesitated.

“I’m… fine.” He said, refusing to look her in the eye. Hana made a non-committal noise in reply. She didn’t want to push him but she stayed by his side to let him know she was here if he wanted to talk. The bonfire was a moderate distance away from the main festival stalls and eventually Jared couldn’t help but make conversation.

“Well, Hana, tell me a bit about yourself. How’d you get into Asagao?” He had a hint of a smile on his face which eased some of Hana’s worries. The question had caught her off guard though and she laughed nervously.

“Well… I’m a scholarship student. There was no way my father and I would be able to manage the costs by ourselves.” This caused Jared to raise an eyebrow but he didn’t say anything. Hana knew she was the odd one out so his mild surprise wasn’t exactly unexpected. “I’m not even sure how I passed the interview process to be honest. Most of the kids here are either rich, like Mai, or smart, like Satch, or incredibly talented, like you.”

Jared beamed and Hana suddenly realised the words that had slipped out.

“Why thank you, my dearest lady.”

“You’re… welcome.” She said, a bit taken aback by the sudden transition back to the weird, highfalutin speech. At least it had seemed liked he’d cheered up and there was no way she was going to ask anyway.

“I’m terribly afraid I’m not at my peak.” He said, his hand pressed to his forehead. “I do so hope you will forgive me for leaving early.”

“Of course.” She smiled at him, amused. “Hope you feel better soon.”

They were nearly at the bonfire and it seemed Jared didn’t want to cause a fuss so he shared a hushed conversation with Satch, took the goldfish off his hands, and disappeared into the night.Hana looked away from and was suddenly awed at the bonfire before her. The bonfire was huge, bigger than Hana had anticipated. As Hana caught up with the rest of the group she heard Jirard talking about how the whole town gathered together in the weeks before the festival to gather the firewood. She stepped up to it, warming her hands, enjoying the protection it gave from the quickly cooling night.

“I see you also enjoy bonfires.” Paul said, noticing Hana warming her hands.

“Of course!” She replied with a grin.

“Who doesn’t enjoy the malicious power of fire, right Hana?” Mai slung an arm over Hana’s shoulder, almost toppling them over.

“I hate the smell of smoke.” Josh interjected, his nose wrinkling in disgust.

“Shut up Josh.” Paul rolled his eyes.

Hana wasn’t really sure what they were meant to be doing at the fire but it was nice just hanging out with friends and talking about whatever came to mind.

“It’s a shame we didn’t make it to everything.” Jirard despaired.

“You need to relax man,” Satch patted him on the shoulder. “We had fun which is the important thing.”

“But it’s Hana’s first festival!” Jirard insisted.

“I can promise you I’ve had a great time Jirard.” Hana said, moving to sit between Satch and Jirard on the log they were sat on. “Higanbana is great.”

“Well that’s a relief!” Jirard let out a hearty laugh and Hana couldn’t help but smile at the bright ringing sound.

“Hey Hana I”-

“Oh. Hello you lot.” Miss Shizuka appeared from out of nowhere, interrupting PBG who had been about to say something. She stepped between Hana and Satch, slithering an arm around Hana’s neck. Her eyes darted from Hana to the pack of boys she was surrounded by. Hana noticed she had a piece of chalk in her left hand which seemed grossly out of place outside the classroom.

“Out having fun, are we?” Shizuka spat. Hana looked like a deer in the headlights, her eyes darted to PBG, to Jirard, but both looked to shocked to intervene.

“Uh… no!” Hana yelped, answering on instinct.

“Don’t lie to me Hana.” She hissed, leaning into Hana and attempting (and failing) to whisper. “Listen Hana, men are dangerous, you can’t trust them!”

“Yes, ma’am.” Hana nodded, hoping agreement was the quickest way to resolve the situation.

“Which of these boys have romantic intentions, hmm?” She glared at PBG who was still hovering in front of Hana. Shizuka pointed her stick of chalk at him. “This one?”

PBG blushed furiously, struck dumb for a moment before shaking his head. “No, I, uh, I just”-

“You think young love is so great?” She snapped. “Well, it’s not!” Men aren’t worth a damn Hana, not even one!”

Miss Shizuka’s exclamations were quickly garnering them too much attention for Hana to handle.

“Hana!” Mai spotted Hana’s predicament and quickly rushed over to her, grabbing her arm and lifting her to her feet. “The dance is starting!”

Sure enough, drums had started beating and Hana let herself be easily whisked away by Mai, anything to be as far away from Shizuka as possible. When they finally halted their escape, Hana could barely see the Normal Boots boys on the other side of the fire.

Hana jumped slightly when she felt a hand on her waist, another lifting her arm.

“Oh sorry, did you want to lead?” Mai asked. She was blushing slightly, though it could just be because she was warm (the hand on Hana’s waist was very warm). Her eyes were also reflecting the light of the bonfire and Hana found herself lost in them for a moment. Hana found her herself blushing when she snapped out of her moment of reverie.

“This is…. fine.” Hana said quietly. She tentatively lifted her hand to Mai’s shoulder. Mai grinned, her eyes and nose scrunching up.

“You’ve had fun then?” Mai asked. Hana was caught up admiring the ease with which Mai moved the two of them amongst the crowd of dancers and almost missed the question.

“Yeah, it’s been really fun. I’m glad I invited everyone.”

“Not wishing you’d only invited one then?”

“Nope!” Hana smiled, shaking her head.

“Fire!” A familiar voice yelled from not too far away. Hana immediately dropped her hold of Mai in her panic.

“Holy shit!” Another voice, Jon maybe?

“What the fuck?!” That was definitely Shane’s voice.

“We should go make sure no one’s on fire,” Mai muttered into Hana’s ear. “Or getting expelled.”

They headed towards the direction of the boys’ shouting to find Mr. Saitomo beating some flames with a leather jacket. Fire was trailing down a log onto the ground where the dry grass had started to pick it up.

“What happened?” Mai demanded. A sheepish Nick was looking at Mai, panic in his eyes, and Josh was wiping at his eyes, his face covered in dirt.

“Nick and Josh were duelling and then things escalated and then, uh, fire?” Jon offered as an attempt at an explanation.

At some point Miss Shizuka had run up to kick the log aside and between the jacket-flailing and stomping the fire was quickly put out. There was a small crowd gathered to witness the chaos and Miss Shizuka frowned furiously at the responsible boys.

“Boys…” She warned. Paul held up his hands in surrender and everyone started to slowly back away.

“Understood miss. We’re leaving.”

Nick helped Josh up, apologising softly. Hana went to check they were okay and they quickly reassured her, apologising again.

The whole gang headed back to campus, the night brought to an abrupt, yet somehow fitting, end. Jirard helped Mai and Hana carry the souvenirs, prizes and gifts they’d collected throughout the night.  
PBG was by Hana’s side on the way back, they talked about his move, her mother’s death, and what their lives had been like since they’d last seen each other. Even as they neared Primrose House there was still so much she didn’t know. How had he ended up at Asagao? How had the little boy turned into the tall, athletic man before her today? She could tell PBG also wanted to keep talking but they both silently agreed now wasn’t the time for it. It would be rude to continue excluding everyone else no matter how much they were enjoying the conversation.

Once they had arrived outside Primrose House, instead of departing, everyone was stood around in an approximation of a circle, chatting and joking quietly. Hana found herself yawning, the evening had taken a toll on her. She was thinking of trying to make her exit when Jon beat her to it.

“Hey guys, we’ve got to go record PB&J.” Jon said with a gesture to PBG. “I guess we’ll see you guys later, thanks for inviting us Hana!”

Jon was already waving goodbye but PBG quickly stepped over to Hana and Jon stopped with a roll of his eyes.

“Hana, I just thought, uh,” He was stumbling over his words again and Hana couldn’t help but let out a little giggle. “Would you mind if I gave you my number? So, y’know, we can catch up and stuff.”

Before Hana could even open her mouth to agree there was the eager face of Nick in front of her face.

“Yeah!” He said, sounding slightly giddy. “Let’s all give Hana our numbers!”

PBG looked frustrated at this turn of events but Jon was hurrying him so he quickly typed his number into Hana’s phone and left.

“Don’t forget to give Mai your number too.” Paul said as he hit Nick on the back of the head. Nick recoiled but didn’t disagree, realising his act of disrespect.

“Good point!” Jirard agreed. “Hana already has my number but, here Mai.”

He quickly got out a notebook, scribbled something down, and then handed the piece of paper to Mai. Hana felt a sense of déjà vu as Jirard listed the full details of the information he was giving her. Shane was stood to one side but Hana caught him rolling his eyes trying to hide his amused smile.

Once contact information had been swapped the girls finally bid farewell to the remaining boys and headed towards their dorm room.

Once inside, Hana immediately collapsed onto her bed.

“You a little tired there?” Mai asked plopping down next to her.

“Just a little.” Hana said. She then yawned and Mai giggled. “It was fun though.”

“Yeah, it was… nice.” Hana moved herself up into a sitting position. Mai’s smile had faded.

“Did you not have fun?” Hana asked, the anxieties that had been worn away throughout the night came back rear their ugly heads.

“Oh no!” Mai quickly insisted. “I definitely had fun, it’s just, I don’t know it was a little weird. I’m not sure I felt like I belonged there.”

Hana smiled sympathetically. Mai had voiced similar feelings before and Hana still wasn’t sure how best to respond to them.

“And, well, Jared was acting really weird around me.” Mai continued, eyes downcast. “I don’t think he liked me being there much.”

Hana wanted to tell Mai how untrue that must be but she then remembered how weird and awkward Jared had been acting.

“Also, I still can’t believe Nick and Josh almost burnt down an entire festival!” Mai said incredulously. The look on her face made it obvious she was trying to change topic so Hana quickly followed suit, not wanting to force Mai to talk on a subject that made her uncomfortable.

The two of them found themselves giggling and chatting about the antics the boys had got up to that evening until Hana spotted the time and realised how late it had gotten. They quickly got changed and tucked into bed. Hana felt sleep quickly coming to claim her so she mumbled out a goodnight before she was completely unconscious.

“Goodnight Hana.” Mai replied, her voice warm in the darkened room. “Thank you for tonight.”

Hana found herself falling asleep with a smile on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you have it! The first chapter! Hahah it's probably super obvious which routes are my faves. I've thought about this story a lot so if you have any questions about why I made any particular decisions feel free to ask! In the comments, on [tumblr](https://smilinggarnet.tumblr.com/) or on [twitter](https://twitter.com/mattiealawson). Please let me know what you think somewhere on the internet!


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even after the festival, everything still happens so much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two is finally here! Thank you so much for the kudos and comments on the first chapter. This one is, uh, even longer. So much in my life has changed since I posted the first chapter?? I graduated and will soon be employed and honestly?? I would rather just write about my pink-haired gal.

Hana woke to the sounds of birds singing. The early morning sunlight filtered through the blinds and she draped an arm over her eyes to block out the light.

“Ugh…” Hana groaned before forcing herself into a slightly more awake state. She could hear Mai’s soft snores coming from the bed above and seeing the time, 6:45, Hana wished she was also still asleep. She’d woken before her alarm and the time for school had already creeped upon her. The weekend had been such a whirlwind and it was all she could do to convince herself it hadn’t been a dream.

Quietly, so as to not wake Mai, Hana gathered her things and headed to the bathroom. She had expected to be the only one awake so early but after getting changed she found herself faced with a pair of sharp pink eyes.

“Oh!” Mimi said. “Good morning Hana.”

Hana had barely ever shared more than a few words with Mimi and she didn’t really know how to act around her. They’d never had a conversation between just the two of them. Something about her made Hana feel uncomfortable. It was something to do with the way her smile never seemed to reach her eyes.

“Morning.” Hana replied with a polite nod. She continued her usual morning routine in the hopes that early morning chatter wasn’t in Mimi’s agenda. Of course, she would never be that lucky.

“So, Hana,” Mimi began, straightener in hand. “I saw you at the festival yesterday. It looked like you were having fun.”

Hana could see Mimi was smiling but something about the way she spoke seemed to be oozing venom.

“Uhm, yeah.” Hana said feebly. “Did you have fun?”

“It was alright.” Mimi glanced over at Hana for a moment. “I bet it wasn’t as good as spending the evening with all of Normal Boots.”

Hana remembered what Mai had said about Mimi wanting to ‘get in with her’ and the keen interest Mimi was showing suddenly made sense. Hana nodded and quickly brushed her teeth, intent on leaving as soon as possible.

“How did you even manage to get them to all agree to go with you? You even had Shane! When I saw him I was totally shocked.”

“I just asked I guess.” Hana said, teeth cleaned.

“There must have been more to it. you can tell me, I won’t blab.” Mimi had finished straightening her hair and took a step closer to Hana.

“Uh, I’d love to talk more but uh,” Hana swallowed, her throat dry and her lungs hurting. “I’ve got to go and wake Mai, bye!”

The words tumbled out of her mouth and she practically ran out the bathroom and back to her dorm. She had her hand to the door – ready to throw herself inside – when something caught her eye. A blank yellow envelope was taped to the door. She checked no one was in the hallway, pulled it off and headed inside. Mai was just waking up, her head peeking out from under her covers. On hearing Hana walk in she inched herself out slowly and smiled sleepily.

“G’morning Hana.” She mumbled. She perked up a bit when she saw Hana holding something. “What’s that?”

“An envelope.” Hana replied giving it another look over. “It was stuck to our door.”

“Oooh!” Mai giggled as she wiggled out of bed, a knowing look in her eyes. “A secret admirer already?”

“I don’t think so.” Hana said. She opened the envelope and pulled out the rough parchment paper beneath. “Wow, this is fancy!”

Mai had seemed tired mere moments ago, but at the sight of the paper she lunged at Hana, peering at the letter.

“Look at this! It’s handwritten! In _ink!_ ” She snatched the letter out of Hana’s hands, Hana yelped in surprise. “Oh, my god, this _is_ a love letter! Better yet, it’s a poem!”

She saw Hana scowling but continued on with a barely stifled giggle.

“It’s titled: ‘Waving… Hello!” Her face fell in disdain as she read the poem. “Ugh. No accounting for taste.”

“Give me that!” Hana demanded and she snatched it back out of Mai’s hands. She read the poem and had to agree with Mai’s verdict. It was awful.

“My gosh…” Hana said, trying to figure out how best to word her opinion.

“Yeah.” Mai looked thoroughly unimpressed.

“This is _terrible._ ” Hana said, giving up any pretence of mercy.

“Who do you think wrote it? Someone from Normal Boots?” Mai asked innocently.

“No, definitely not.” Hana dismissed. “Who says it’s for me? No one from Normal Boots would write something for me, anyways.”

“What do you mean none of them? Not even PBG?” Mai looked confused. “You did go to the festival with him.”

Hana mirrored Mai’s confusion.

“You were also there.” Hana stated. “I went to the festival with all of them that doesn’t mean they’d write me a _love letter._ ”

“All of them?” Mai blinked slowly and then shook her head. “I mean yeah, of course. Sorry, I’m still half asleep.”

She yawned to demonstrate her point. Hana wasn’t convinced but Mai continued before she could be questioned.

“Oh my goodness, what if it’s from someone from Hidden Block?” Mai’s eyes were glittering. “It would be sooo romantic, you’d be star-crossed lovers!”

“No way!” Hana scoffed. “Besides, this poem is just so…”

“Generic?” Mai finished her sentence.

“Yeah,” Hana agreed. “You could practically apply it to anyone.”

“Man, this poem sucks!” Mai declared. “If you’re going to write a love poem it has to be _specific!_ Like, ‘I love your effervescent sparkle’ or ‘the colour of your hair reminds me of the cherry blossoms falling in spring’. And you should sign it too! This is so half-assed, whoever it was isn’t even worth it.”

Mai hadn’t seemed to notice the way Hana flushed at her words.  Hana knew the sparkle referred to Jared but the cherry blossom-hair almost sounded like it was about…her? She was probably looking too much into it. Mai was just making up examples after all. Hana was so caught up in her thoughts she barely heard Mai’s question.

“...it wasn’t PBG?”

“What?” Hana internally shook her head. Mai frowned but shook her head.

“Never mind, we should probably get ready, huh?” Mai grabbed the letter and threw it on her desk. “Let’s forget this nonsense.”

 

* * *

 

The walk to class was almost peaceful compared to the morning so far but as they walked down the hallway something was different. Hana saw Paul staring at the wall and she realised what had changed. There was a neon blue poster that proudly proclaimed: ‘SPACEHAMER FOR PRESIDENT.’

“Since when was Jeff running for pres?” Mai asked. Her question caught Paul’s attention and Hana gave him a weak smile of reassurance. She wanted to offer some encouraging words but it seemed someone else wanted her attention.

“Hana!” Mimi was suddenly standing in the doorway of the class. Her eyes were wide and expectant.

“Uhm, hi Mimi.” Two conversations with Mimi in one morning and it wasn’t even the start of class. That sure bode well. “What’s wrong? Is everything okay?”

Glancing inside the room, Hana saw everyone was watching her in complete silence. She glanced back to where Paul had been but he was nowhere in sight. Seemed the matter of Jeff’s presidential candidacy would have to wait.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Mai demanded, stepping between Hana and Mimi. “You have a problem with my friend?”

“No, it’s…” She sighed and stepped to the side. Mai and Hana walked into the classroom and saw Hana’s desk had been adorned with a small bouquet of yellow flowers.

“What… is that?” Hana was taken aback. Her first guess would be that it was a prank but she squashed down that theory before it could grow out of control. No one replied. She looked over to where PBG, Jon and Shane were sat but all she got from them was a shrug from Jon. Steeling herself for any possible outcome, she slowly approached her desk.

The flowers held a delicate scent and were an arrangement of yellow roses. There must have been at least a dozen of them and they were arranged in such a way that all of them were on show, giving the impression of the sun and making them more beautiful as a whole than they were on their own. On closer inspection Hana saw there was a note poking out.

“Ooh, a note!” Mai cooed, also inspecting the flowers. “Two already today, huh?”

“I’m sure this won’t be like _that_ one.” Hana said, a blush forming at the possibility. She fished out the card. It was cream, with gold embroidering and on it read: _Knabenbauer._ She quickly opened it and inside was a brief message, handwritten in flowing loops and smooth lines. It read:

_‘Hana,_

_Thank you so much for allowing me to join you at the Flower Festival._

_I know it may have seemed I did not enjoy my evening but I assure you I was delighted to spend time with you and get to know you better._

_I also wish to apologise again for leaving prematurely, I do so hope you didn't think it was your fault._

_These yellow roses symbolise my apology and, what I hope will be, our continuing friendship._

_I hope you have a great day today._

_Jared.’_

“Well that’s sweet.” Mai commented. Hana jumped.

“He didn’t have to send me flowers just to say thank you or sorry or whatever.” Hana groaned. She appreciated the gesture but this was just garnering her more attention which wasn’t particularly helpful.

“Jared is always over the top with everything.” Hana jumped again at the voice of Jon behind her. He was reading the note over her shoulder.

“I didn’t notice anything seemed up with him.” PBG commented, also trying to read the note. He could easily see over the top of Hana but it was making Hana feel awkward so she just handed it to him to read.

“Yeah well you weren’t really paying attention to anyone but”- Shane elbowed Jon in the ribs. “Oof, hey, what was that for?”

Shane motioned his head to Miss Shizuka who had just walked in and the three of them made their way back to their seats. Miss Shizuka seemed to barely register the commotion surrounding Hana’s desk as she slumped into her desk chair.

“Class. Get in your seats and self-study or something.” She gestured vaguely with her hand before putting her head in her hands.

“Looks like someone’s hungover.” Mai said. At the sound of Mai’s voice, Miss Shizuka looked up. She seemed to finally noticed the bouquet on Hana’s desk and glared at it as if it was one of her exes.

“What’s going on over there?” She inquired, eyes somehow narrowing further.

Hana opened her mouth to answer but was beaten to the punch by Mimi.

“Hana received a bouquet of flowers from an upperclassman miss.” She said matter-of-factly.

“Someone sent you flowers, did they?” She looked on the verge of standing up and stalking over to Hana with the intent to destroy the flowers in front of her.

“They’re yellow roses miss, to represent friendship.” PBG pointed out.

Miss Shizuka’s glare softened slightly.

“Platonic feelings are acceptable.” She said through gritted teeth. “But you keep your wits about you Hana, you can never know a man’s true intentions.”

With that declaration, she flopped back into chair and rested her head on the table as if she was going to try to sleep.

Hana turned to look at PBG to thank him for the rescue and he returned her smile with a thumbs up.

“Well, this morning has been a bit eventful, huh?” Mai said with an almost cheeky looking grin.

“Yeah, I don’t think I got enough sleep last night to deal with all this.” Hana admitted. “Might as well get to work?”

The flowers on her desk were a distraction throughout class but looking at them did make her smile. She had been worried that Jared hadn’t enjoyed the festival so it was nice to know he had a good time.

 

* * *

 

When lunch came around she thought she should probably thank Jared for the flowers but when she approached the usual table she knew it wasn’t the right time. There was palpable tension in the air and not a single face wasn’t downcast. Shane’s eyes bore into Mai and Hana as they walked over together.

“You took them, didn’t you?” He demanded, not even waiting for the two of them to sit down. Hana looked at him blankly.

“…Pardon?”

“The Boots.” He insisted. “You’ve taken the Golden Boots.”

“No, we didn’t take them.” Mai shook her head and calmly took her seat. “What’s going on?”

“Shane, they wouldn’t have taken them.” Satch said to Shane before turning to the girls. “The statue of The Boots has been stolen.”

“No! Not The Boots! You guys practically worship that thing.”

“We _do_ worship it.” Paul interjected. “Jirard found them missing, he wouldn’t joke about something this serious.”

“I’d accidentally left an IBK I wanted to swap.” Jirard explained. “But when I saw them missing I immediately rushed here to tell the guys.”

“Well, we were all together yesterday for the Festival, who could have done it?” Mai asked.

“You were looking at The Boots the other day.” Shane said through tight lips. He was met with an unamused raise of Mai’s eyebrow. “I think you know what I’m implying.”

“Mai would never do something like that!” Hana piped up.

“How do you know”-

“ _Shane._ ” PBG warned. “Mai’s right, we were all together yesterday, one of us would have noticed.”

“Jared left early.” Jon helpfully pointed out. Everyone ignored his input.

“I’m telling you guys: it’s got to be Hidden Block.” Nick stated, arms crossed in defiance. They all turned, not very discreetly, to look over at the Hidden Block club. They seemed to be acting as per usual, which is to say, as oddly as usual, and didn’t look particularly suspicious.

“Even if it was them, it’s not like we have any proof.” Josh said, crossing his arm in symmetry.

“Sounds like we need to do some old-fashioned detective work.” Mai grinned in excitement.

“Who said you needed to be involved.” Shane grumbled.

“I became involved when you tried to accuse me.” She replied through gritted teeth.

“Well you can never trust pink-haired girls, what’s to say red-haired girls are any different?” Hana flinched at the words, feeling her heart sink. Shane’s face was deceivingly calm but his voice was filled to the brim with venom.

“What is your _problem?!”_ Mai snapped, raising to her feet.

“Hey, let’s not”-

“ _I’m_ going to the clubroom to look for clues.” Mai declared, cutting off Jirard’s attempts to diffuse the situation. “Anyone else who cares is welcome to join me.”

She’d barely taken a bite out of her lunch but she stormed out without a look back. Hana slowly released her hands from the tensed fists they had formed but she kept her head turned downwards.

“Seems like a decent plan to me.” Jon offered with a shrug. There was a murmuring of agreement (of varying degrees of sincerity) and the boys made their collective move to follow Mai.

“You okay Hana?” The soft voice of PBG asked. He was bent over to try and make himself her eye level and Hana looked up to see his eyes wide with worry.

“I’m fine.” Hana muttered, shrugging PBG’s hand off her shoulder when he reached out.

When they arrived at the Normal Boots clubroom they found Mai sat on the desk in front of the door with her arms crossed.

“Before you ask, the door was already unlocked.” She said, her voice acid. Jirard had the decency to look a little sheepish. “And I think you have all the evidence you need if you look over there.”

She pointed to the cupboard where The Boots were normally kept, the doors wide open. Shane was the first to find the “evidence”.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”

Inside the glass case, on top of the velvet pillow where the Normal Boots were meant to reside, was a yellow box with a white question mark pasted on the side.

“Hidden Block!” Jon roared, fist raised. Without another word, he ran for the door.

“I wanted to go about this more diplomatically… but this works for me!” Paul gave an amused shrug. They all quickly headed out of the clubroom, the yells of Jon bouncing off the hallway walls. They upped their pace.

“Where are they?!” Hana winced at the sound of Jon’s shouting on the other side of the door. PBG hurriedly led the rest of the club into the room before thing’s could escalate too much.

“Looks like the whole gang is here.” Ian drawled. “Care to tell us what this is about? Your founding father here isn’t being particularly forthcoming with details.”

“Where are The Boots?” Shane growled, finger pointed firmly in Ian’s face. Ian’s eyebrows shot up and he raised his hands in surrender.

“You got me.” He said, sarcasm still obvious in his tone.

“Oh Shaney boy, a little riled up, aren’t we?” Jimmy gracefully slipped off the table he was sat on and strolled over to Shane. “I’m sure we be mature about this, how about a little exchange?”

Shane seemed too angry to reply. Hana thought she could almost see the steam coming out of his ears.

“What do you want?” PBG stepped in, nudging Shane back.

“Oh, nothing much, isn’t that right Caddy?”

“Of course, we’re not monsters.” Caddy replied, mischievous grin on his face indicating otherwise.

“Trivial really.” Wallid added.

PBG groaned in frustration.

“Please stop dragging this out.” He looked to Jeff and Luke who were staying out of it. “Guys?”

They both shook their heads.

“Wasn’t involved so don’t know, sorry man.” Luke said. Even if that was true they were both having too much fun watching.

“Here’s the deal,” Caddy said. “We’ll give them back if you admit we’re the best club and that’s there’s no way you’ll beat us at the tournament.”

Hana had been expecting the worst, the boys seemed like they’d do anything in exchange for their precious boots, but the ridiculousness of the situation hit her and she couldn’t help letting out a snort. Mai elbowed her but also appeared to be holding back laughter.

“No way.” Shane uttered. “No fucking way, you shit head.”

“I thought they wanted their boots back, didn’t you Wallid?” Jimmy asked, the perfect picture of innocence.

“Well gee Jimmy, seems we misjudged this one!” They couldn’t keep up the charade for long and the whole club started to break down in hysterics.

While the laughter of their enemy echoed around them, the Normal Boots gathered in a circle to talk strategy. Mai and Hana were left out, more due to the treacherous laughter they were letting loose than their lack of club member status.

“Very well!” Jared declared, plan decided. “If it’s a performance you want, it’s a performance you shall get!”

The look on Satch’s face made it clear that he was not a part of this planning process. He looked near to facepalming in despair.

“We also get to record you.” Jimmy amended at the sudden cooperation.

“But of course, anyone would want a permanent reminder of me and my abilities!”

“Hey, I’m the real actor here.” Jon interjected, a cheeky grin on his face.

“Then by all means, lead the way.” Jared gestured at Jon, his partner for this performance, to begin.

Jimmy quickly scrambled to get his phone ready to film. Jon raised the back of his hand to his forehead and took a deep breath before starting.

“Hark, what light through yonder window breaks?” Jon bellowed, sinking to one knee. “It is the east, and Hidden Block is the sun!”

If Hana had thought her friends were talented before, now she was… less sure. It was definitely the performance of a lifetime, and although not the exact words asked for, Caddy deemed it deserving of the boots back.

“Well, where are they?” Shane demanded. His face was flushed from second-hand embarrassment.

“Weren’t the real Boots the friends we made along the way?” Wallid said, smiling gleefully at the look of pure hatred directed at him.

“Your Boots are in your clubroom right where you left them.” Ian said, his smirk the closest to a genuine smile Hana had ever seen.

“Wha”-

“They’re in the _box_.” Satch groaned, finally giving in and facepalming. “Why did no one check inside the box!?”

 

* * *

 

Hana could feel her stomach complaining loudly as that afternoon’s lessons dragged on. The chaos of The Boots had meant she hadn’t had much of a chance to eat lunch and the look on Mai’s face told her they were in the same boat.

Turned out Satch had been right and The Boots had been in the hidden block-box. The Hidden Block club – or at least those responsible – did have to be commended for a prank well done. Hana’s experiences of ‘pranks’ were painful to say the least, so it was refreshing to see one actually work. Once it was revealed no one had really stolen The Boots in the first-place Hana even got to see the Normal Boots boys get a laugh out of it.

As fun as it may have been, the lack of lunch coupled with the very hectic day was taking its toll. Hana usually prided herself on being attentive in class but she had to admit she could feel her eyes drooping. It was the scent of the roses Jared had given her that gave her the motivation to stay awake but she was still glad when class finally ended.

“Hey, Mai?” Hana turned to her friend who rubbed her bleary eyes. “Is it okay if you go back to the dorm without me?”

“Yeah, of course! I have to get ready for practice, anyway.” She smiled understandingly. “I’ll see you later!”

Mai left the room, a yawn escaping her lips. Hana caught the yawn and she felt her eyes droop again for a moment.

“Hana, are you alright?” It was PBG who was checking on her again. She smiled gently at him. “Class has ended you know.”

“Yeah, it’s just been a long day.” Hana stretched her arms and heard her a loud crack. She grimaced. “I’m turning into an old woman already.”

“I don’t think you’re there quite yet.” PBG chuckled. Hana got to her feet. Without realising it, she’d stayed in her seat while everyone else – bar PBG – had already left. She carefully gathered up her flowers. PBG’s smiled faded.

“Are you headed to the clubroom?” Hana asked, admiring the flowers again. “Do you know if Jared will be there? I want to thank him.”

“Yeah, sure. I can walk you there if you like?” The sentence went upwards awkwardly at the end.

“Thanks!” Hana smiled broadly at him and his smile returned. She had been nervous about going to the room on her own, even if it wouldn’t be the first time today. PBG strode over to the door in a few steps and patiently waited for Hana to join him.

They walked in amicable silence until Hana’s stomach rumbled again.

“I’m so sorry!” Hana squeaked, holding a hand to her stomach. “I didn’t eat enough at lunch.”

“Hana!” PBG frowned but understanding dawned on him. “Oh, we stopped you from eating because of The Boots, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine it’s not your”-

“Here!” He pulled a packet of cookies from his backpack.

“Uhm, thanks?” Hana delicately took one. “Do you always carry a pack of emergency cookies?”

“Oh, no, uh,” He blushed. “I went looking for some particular cookies recently and couldn’t find them but I felt awkward not buying anything.”

“What were you looking for?”

His eyes darted away and he took a cookie to stop himself from having to talk for a moment.

“Do you remember those cookies we always got at the corner store?” His eyes slowly drifted back to Hana’s face. “They came with little toys. They were awesome! And we split them half and half, so you got the cookie and I got the toy. I wanted those again…”

“Those are illegal now, PBG.” Hana said, her heart heavy at their lost childhood but mouth quirked in a smile at her friend’s adorableness.

“What? Why?”

“Kids choked on the toys, I think.”

“Charles…” PBG growled.

“Charles?”

“It’s…” He looked up to see they had arrived in front of the clubroom door. “Nevermind.”

Hana would have pressed further but PBG didn’t skip a beat before walking into the clubroom.

“PBG!” Jared cheered as he entered. “And Hana too! Perfect, you’re just in time.”

He grabbed Hana by the arm and dragged her into the room, pulling the door shut behind them. PBG squawked indignantly at being pushed to the side. Hana looked around to see Shane, Jirard and all of Continue? stood on the top of their desks. Shane’s tie was pulled up around his head as if he were drunk and Jon was wearing his Normal Boots jacket like a cape. Meanwhile, Continue? were gripping onto each other for dear life.

“Alas!” Jared cried before Hana could even begin to process what she was witnessing. She turned to Jared in confusion. “The mayor and her advisor have finally arrived! Please, tell us how you will save us from the scourge that has risen in the above-water city of Atlantis!”

She gaped at him before turning to PBG who could only offer her a shrug. A grunt came from behind her and she turned to see Shane pulling his tie back around his neck.

“I don’t think non-members should be allowed in the clubroom.” Shane said, frown moving from Hana to PBG and falling on Jared.

“Well she was in here earlier, and besides, she’s basically a member!” Jirard replied, smile bright as always. Shane took in a deep, steadying breath.

“No.” Shane insisted, eyes becoming more frantic. Hana heard Jared take in a sharp breath.

“Ah, yes, sorry Shane.” Jared bowed slightly. “Everyone, take five.”

Shane nodded his head in gratitude and the Normal Boots members all climbed off their desks. Jared gestured to the door.

“Sorry about that, Hana, I forgot the rules for a moment.” Jared said with eyebrows downturned.

“No, that’s okay.” Hana sighed. “I just- I wish I knew what I did wrong.”

Jared ran a hand through his hair, somehow making it more perfect than before.

“It’s not your fault, Hana.” Jared smiled at her sadly. “He’s… he’s had a bad history with girls, so it just takes him a bit longer to warm up to them. Try not to take it personally.”

The reason didn’t quite ring true. Hana felt a sneaking suspicion there was more to this then she was being told. She hadn’t done anything to him so it wasn’t really fair for him to take it out on her. Hana remembered her own history with girls, maybe she shouldn’t judge. Hana bit her lip to stop herself from pressing for more answers, it wasn’t Jared’s place to tell her anyway.

“I kind of understand.” Hana admitted. “I’ve had my fair share of bad history.”

“Oh?” Jared asked, an eyebrow quirked.

“Not important.” Hana shook her head, eager to change the subject. “But… uh, can you tell me what was going on in there?”

“In there? Oh!” His face scrunched like he was trying not to smile. “That was some improv.”

“Improv? Like what you did for Hidden Block earlier?”

“Kind of.” Jared nodded. “It’s a branch of theatre work involving the creation of scenes on the spur of the moment.”

“Oh, that’s cool!” Hana grinned. “It seems like a lot of fun too.”

“Indeed!” Jared’s face seemed to smooth out and his eyes narrowed at Hana. “But you tell me Hana, what brought you to our clubroom this fine afternoon?”

“Oh! Uh,” She looked down at the flowers that were still in her hands, a little more disheveled than when she had left the classroom. “I came by to say thank you for the flowers. They’re so beautiful.”

“Think nothing of it.” Jared said. He waved a hand through the air. “You are deserving of more than I could give at the Festival, so this was the least I could do.”

“Still, I appreciate it.” Hana could feel her face heating up. “No one’s ever done something like this for me.”

“Well I”-

“Hey, are you done yet?” PBG’s head peeked out through the door. He saw the blush on Hana’s face and pouted. “Sorry, did I interrupt something?”

“No, it’s fine.” Hana said, wishing she could drain the blood from her face so she would never blush again.

“Looks like I’ve got to go, I’ll see you around!”

“Yup!” Hana waved, totally not awkwardly. “See you tomorrow.”

 

* * *

 

As soon as Hana got to her room that evening, she fell face first into her bed. She groaned, the noise muffled by her sheets. She must have fallen asleep as she was still there when Mai got back from practice.

“Long day, huh?” Mai giggled.

“These boys are too much.” Hana moaned. She rolled onto her back, her arms spread. Despite her fatigue, she felt a smile tug on her lips. “Still, they keep things interesting.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” Mai snorted.

The rest of the evening passed through bleary eyes. They watched some anime that Mai insisted was world changing but Hana could barely keep track of what was going on. She struggled to keep up with the plot of these at the best of times.

After the third yawn in less than a minute, Mai suggested it might be time for bed. Hana gratefully agreed.

However, it seemed the universe did not believe Hana was due a full night’s rest just yet. The sound of a knock woke her up after a couple of hours of restless sleep. In her half-asleep state, she thought she’d imagined it but no, there it was again. Hana made an annoyed noise and rolled over, hoping whoever it was would realise she was sleeping and go away. No such luck. The knock became more forceful and even Mai woke up.

“’S probably Paul, just answer it.” She mumbled, face squished into her pillow.

“But”-

“Hana?” A hushed voice asked. Hana sighed and went to the door, peeking out to see who it was. To her surprise – and Mai’s premonition – an excited Paul stood in the doorway.

“Paul? What are you doing here?” Hana asked, rubbing at her sleep filled eyes. “You’re going to be in _so_ much trouble if someone finds you here!”

“Hana.” Paul said firmly, grabbing Hana’s hands and holding them to his chest. His eyes were glittering and Hana felt her heart flutter. “I know how I’m going to beat Jeff, and you’re going to help me.”

Whatever had been fluttering flew out of her chest. She yawned, flattered, but also aggravated at being asked for another favour. She wondered if this was the price she had to pay for having to go to the Festival with the Normal Boots members. A small niggling voice suggested they only went with her to make her in their debt. Maybe they only wanted to use the poor scholarship student as their errand girl. Hana just wanted some sleep.

“What?” Hana asked, her eyes distrusting and heart closed.

Paul didn’t seem to notice any change. He released her hands and began pacing in the narrow space in front of her doorway. Mai was already awake but Hana still closed the door out of respect for the both of them. It seemed like this would take a while.

“Nick, Josh, and I are all fantastic people. This is something that simply cannot be argued.” It should have sounded like bragging but Paul just stated it as fact. “We’re charismatic. Charming. Destructive. We’ve got a nice triple-hit combo with my guidance, Nick’s positive humour, and Josh’s dour but hilarious perspective.”

Hana raised an eyebrow as he rattled off the list but Paul just soldiered on.

“We’re everything people want in friends… but not what people want in a _leader._ Not yet. We need a strategist. A social centre. A female perspective.”

Hana could see where this was going and wanted to slow Paul down, but he was a charging bull and she was the matador’s cape. Paul wasn’t one to stop when he thought he was on a roll.

“Where could we find these things? How many people could we trust enough to handle our delicate humour? Who wouldn’t turn on us the first time we wreaked havoc upon their lives?” He whirled to face Hana, finger outstretched in her face. His eyes were alight and Hana was reminded of the bonfire Continue? spread at the Festival. “That’s where _you_ come in.”

“Paul, I don’t know…” She carefully pushed his pointed finger out of her face. “I’m flattered, really, but”-

“Nope! No buts.” The fire in his eyes burned bright with determination. “You’re kind, you’re contemplative, you’re intelligent. You understand the female perspective, and you bring a new view of life at Asagao that we couldn’t share.”

He faltered for a fraction of a second at her unimpressed look but he still had one more card to play.

“That, and you’re mysterious. A transfer suddenly appearing at school, with pink hair and sudden access to the school’s most popular and influential men? I don’t know how you did it, but you’ve got everyone’s eyes on you.”

Hana felt her shoulders hunch in reaction to his analysis. Having people’s eyes on her was the last thing she had wanted, but he was right. She had waltzed into the school, a no-name-nobody but had slotted herself into the most prestigious club in school like it was nothing. But she wasn’t anything special, she was just… what? Lucky? She didn’t feel it, she felt like she had just gained the pity of the right people.

“Paul, I think you’re thinking too much of me. I’m not… I’m not any of those things.” She sighed, the words lying heavy in her chest. “I’d love to help you, but there’s nothing I’d be able to do. I can’t be in the spotlight, I can’t make people like me, I can’t….”

“Hana…” He took a step forward, hand reaching out but he snatched it back, thinking better of it. He grinned. “Don’t you see? This is exactly why we need you. We _need_ you to level us out. We’re too sure of ourselves, too quick to make decisions.  I envisioned an unopposed victory, but seeing Jeff’s posters today… I realised he’s serious about running _and_ the student body feels like he could make a difference.”

“Paul”-

“More of a difference than I did this past year.”

He cast his eyes to the floor for an instant, momentarily sad. The sight pulled at Hana’s heart and she wanted to ask why, but he was already back at it.

“So? Will you join me?” He looked at Hana hopefully. “With you, I really think we can do it!”

“I…” She began, but wavered.

She had been exhausted by just one day, how would she deal with the responsibility, the _stress_ , of helping with a presidential campaign? Paul thought way too highly of her. There would be no way she’d be able to cope being constantly scrutinised, every action watched, every word noted. The hope in Paul’s eyes faded the longer she didn’t answer. She didn’t want to disappoint him but she couldn’t accept in good faith. Right? She lifted a hand and rubbed her forehead. She was too tired for this.

“I don’t know Paul. I’m too tired to think properly.”

His face fell again, for just a second, then instantly brightened again.

“Exactly! That’s what I’m talking about!” Paul exclaimed. “This is the caution and foresight we need in our team.”

“Paul!” Hana hissed. “Keep your voice down.”

He cleared his throat, glancing nervously up and down the hall.

“Right. Anyway, I’m looking forward to hearing your answer.”

“Please, don’t get your hopes up.” Hana pleaded.

“Too late!” Paul grinned. “Oh, was there anything else you wanted to know before I left?”

Hana squinted, her eyes losing focus as she attempted to think, but the gears in her head were screeching to a halt.

“Nothing I can think of.” Hana admitted, another yawn tearing at her mouth.

“Well it seems someone needs their beauty sleep.” Paul said, ruffling Hana’s hair. She chased his hands away, letting out an indignant yelp.

“Leave already!” She shooed him. “More than just your campaign will be in trouble if you get caught here.”

“Right. Be seeing you Hana.” He began to turn before adding: “And sweet dreams.”

Hana waved sleepily as she watched him stealthily jog down the hall and out of sight. She crept back into her room. Mai’s soft breathing assured her she’d gone back to sleep and Hana let out a sigh. She crawled back into bed, hoping for enough sleep before morning came around again.

  

* * *

“Do whatever you think is best.” Mai told Hana as they sat at their desks the next day. Hana had been surprised Mai hadn’t cornered Hana for details the moment she woke up but she was grateful for the extra processing time. “Don’t be pressured into it, but don’t hold yourself back if it’s what you want to do.”

“Thanks Mai.” Hana said. Hana had needed grounding. Her insecurities had blown the idea way out of proportion but it was still a lot of work, especially if she wasn’t 100% sure about it.

Mai popped a piece of gum into her mouth, the school newspaper open on her desk. Hana got out her phone, intent on getting some practice in before class started. She’d just started a game when Mai dragged her back to the real world.

“Uh… Hana, you should read this.”

She tossed Hana the newspaper. The Continue? news column blared off the page with the headline: SECRET WEAPON. Hana’s hands started to sweat as she read the article. It revealed that Paul had a “secret weapon” for this year’s student council elections. It ended with a quote from him saying “You’ll meet her when the time comes.” She put the newspaper down, watching Mai.

“No wonder everybody was reading it this morning. I bet half of them think he’s got a girlfriend.”

“Oh,” Hana gulped. “Oh, no….”

She put her head in her hands. Mai patted her on the back, nodding sadly.

“Well now there’s no way I can say no!” Hana groaned. “How could he do something like this?! That’s so- so”-

“Manipulative.” Someone finished the sentence for her. Hana looked up to find PBG, at her side once again. His face was dark, an expression Hana had never seen before. Mai’s hand suddenly flew off Hana’s back, and her eyes darted towards the door.

“Uh... maybe you should tell him that yourself.”

She followed Mai’s gaze. Paul entered the classroom, glancing around it quickly. When his eyes fell on Hana, he grinned and darted over. Hana could feel PBG tense up next to her.

“There you are, my dear!”

Well that certainly wasn’t helping the situation.

“Paul, how could you put this in the paper? I never told you yes!”

“Right, yeah, about that.” Paul at least seemed a little apologetic. “I kind of told Nick and Josh to get started on the article right before I went to talk to you… and see, the newspaper gets sent to the printers at midnight and once it’s sent we can’t make changes without paying for it out of pocket… so by the time I got back, it was already in the paper…?”

He chuckled uncertainly. Hana had half a mind to smack him.

“What are you going to do if I say no?”

“You’re going to say no?!” he gasped. A ripple of whispers spread around them. A quick glance around confirmed Hana’s fears: everyone’s eyes were on them.

“Paul!” PBG stepped in. “Can’t you tell how this sounds? Can’t you see what this looks like? A senior visiting our classroom, especially after that article, did you not stop to think how people would interpret this?”

“Woah, hey PBG!” Paul said, arms shooting up defensively. “Didn’t see you there.”

“You seem to be struggling to notice a lot of things.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“I _mean_ ”- Hana reached for his arm and he stopped, realising how riled up he’d got.

“The article, Paul.” Hana reiterated. “Publishing that before I’d agreed, it’s… It’s a bit manipulative.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“I… I didn’t mean to force you, I just…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I got overexcited I guess.”

“It’s okay, just,” Hana’s mind flailed in an attempt to find the right words. “it’s just a lot to deal with?”

“I, yeah, this probably has people thinking all sorts of things, huh?” He chuckled. “I bet some people thought I was trying to ask you out!”

“That’s what I was trying to say.” PBG muttered. Paul didn’t notice.

“He wasn’t?” Mimi spluttered. Paul _did_ notice that and suddenly realised the intense gaze aimed in his direction.

“Oops?” Paul offered awkwardly. “Guess I Pauled it again.”

Paul’s entire body seemed to be weighed down. It was a stark juxtaposition from the endless determination and enthusiasm Hana had seen last night.

“Hey, Paul, it’s not that bad buddy.” PBG had calmed down and noted the shift in Paul’s attitude. “Maybe you should hear Hana out first.”

“Ah, right.” His fallen gaze lifted to look Hana in the eyes. “Seeing as I’ve already made a scene, might as well get your answer. So how about it Hana?”

“Um, well, I”-

“It’s alright Hana,” PBG put a hand on her back and rubbed it in small circles. The gesture made her feel homesick. “Take your time.”

Hana took a deep breath, collecting her thoughts. She wanted to help, sure, but she didn’t think she could handle the pressure, let alone the Continue? trio. Maybe there was a compromise?

“I can’t be on your team, Paul.” Hana stated. Paul immediately looked crestfallen. “But! I do want to help.”

“Go on?” He raised an eyebrow.

“You said I had a new view, a female perspective. Well, I could act as a consultant?” Paul looked unsure. “I could offer you my opinion whenever you need it, provide my alternative viewpoint, but without the huge commitment you’re asking for.”

“Hmm…” Paul stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“I know you think I’m the missing piece in your campaign team puzzle, but being in the spotlight like that? I don’t want that and if I joined, I’d want it to be because I felt I could give it my all. Right now, I don’t think I can give that.”

Paul pursed his lips. Hana held her breath. What if he resented Hana for her rejection? What if he would think she was a coward and turn on her? What if-

“Alright.” Paul offered his hand.

“What?”

“I’ll agree to your terms Miss. Mizuno.” Paul clarified, a quirk to his lips. Hana took his hand and he shook it firmly. “I look forward to working together.”

His hand was warm in Hana’s and she hoped hers wasn’t too sweaty.

“You know, the bell is going to ring any minute.” PBG pointed out.

“Hey, you’re right!” Paul reached his hand out to tousle Hana’s hair again but Hana caught him this time. Paul laughed uproariously. “See you later guys!”

He left, turning to give a finger gun to Hana at the door before disappearing. Hana collapsed her head onto her desk. Mai whistled.

“Well that was a wild ride.”

Hana groaned pathetically. It had been mortifying. Paul hadn’t meant to but his presence had screamed Intend to Date regardless. However, she had survived the conversation. Somehow.

“You doing okay, Hana?” PBG was knelt next to her, his voice so soft only she could hear him.

“I think so.” She said. She dragged her head off her desk. “Thanks for the help PBG.”

“No problem!” He grinned, instantly back on his feet. “You know, you were always the one looking out for me when we were little… so it’s about time I returned the favour, right?”

“I appreciate it.” Hana smiled and she saw a blush creep over PBG’s face. He looked like he wanted to say something else but PBG hadn’t been lying about the bell being close to ringing. He jumped, laughed nervously, then fled back to his desk.

 

* * *

 

Hana almost didn’t want lunch to come. Lunch would mean seeing Paul again and she had no idea if things would be awkward or not. Sure, Paul seemed fine with it but she had no clue how either Nick or Josh had reacted to her compromise.

“Earth to Hana!” Mai waved a hand in front of her face and Hana snapped out of her thoughts. “Ready for lunch?”

“Oh, yeah.” Hana shuffled to her feet. “Maybe we’ll actually be able to eat this time.”

“If The Boots are gone again, those boys can find them by themselves.” Mai scowled. The scowl crumbled after a couple of seconds and they both laughed.

As Mai and Hana approached the Normal Boots table, Jirard flashed around an IBK with a grey wizard’s hat and long beard, dorky grin on his face. Hana didn’t know much about IBKs, but they made Jirard happy and his smile helped ease the lingering tension Hana was feeling. Paul nodded at her as she walked over and Hana released a breath she hadn’t realised she was holding. The Continue? trio were deep in debate and Hana decided now was not the time to interrupt them.

“Check it out! It’s Grandbeard the Bay!” Jirard held the IBK aloft for all to see. “He’s one of the rarer finds, and is said to lack a gender, not participating in either norms but preferring to be referred to as ‘he.’”

The two girls squeezed into the table as the rest of the boys looked on, bemused.

“I like his cloak.” Nick said, head resting on one hand.

“Right?!” Jirard exclaimed. “Most of the versions I saw were missing it, but they were still trying to charge almost full-price for him. It was ridiculous!”

The boys nodded slowly and Hana joined them. Nobody knew what to say, despite Jirard’s intense enthusiasm.

“Well, congratulations.” Satch said. Everyone seemed to let out a collective sigh of relief.

“Thank you.” Jirard beamed. He glowed with pride, completely oblivious to the weird looks he received from students at other tables. He truly didn’t seem to care what other people thought about him. Hana was both impressed and envious. She had no idea how he could stick to his guns without feeling even the slightest bit ashamed, but it was undeniably admirable.

While thinking this, she caught Jirard’s eye.

“Hana! Good morning! How are you?”

“I’m fine, thank you.” Hana said, hoping it seemed true. Jirard noticed the insincere tone.

“You sure?” Jirard’s eyes glistened with concern. “You can always ask me for help if you need it.”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Hana smiled warmly at him. “Just been a tiring couple of days and I haven’t been sleeping well.”

Hana’s gaze instinctively drifted to Paul and she said that last part and he visibly flinched. Josh spotted the odd reaction and saw Hana looking in their direction.

“I hear you’re not joining the team.” He said, face unreadable.

“It’s really a shame, Hana.” Nick added.

“Yes, but we’re glad to have her support still, right?” Paul looked like he’d gone through this conversation with them a few times already.

“Yes. Your perspective is highly valued.” Josh nodded.

“Speaking of!” Paul clapped his hands together gleefully. “You can settle this debate for us. We’re trying to settle on our strategy for this year, but we keep talking in circles.”

“See”- Josh pushed forward, setting his hands on the table and staring Hana down like a lion. “If you ask me, we need to leave people alone. Keep the whole election on the downlow, meeting our competition’s campaign efforts but never exceeding them. The election will fall away from people’s minds, so when the ballot rolls around, they go with a comfortable face.”

“Which is a _terrible_ idea.” Nick interjected. “We need to win their hearts, make them like Paul. If we can make them think he would be a cool dude to get a drink with or someone they can relate to, they’re bound to vote for him, because they’ll trust how he runs things.”

“ _I_ thought we should talk actual platforms. Tell people what we’re planning on doing.” Paul stated. “And this is where you come in. You’re level-headed and impartial, so tell us: What should we do?”

“Wait!” Hana yelped. “I agreed to consult, now I’m in charge of the decision?!”

Paul nodded, unfazed by Hana’s shock, and pointed at Hana. The ball was in her court. Her gut was clearly vouching for one option so she decided to just go with it.

“Platforms then.” It was the only strategy that seemed to make a lick of sense. Paul’s eyes glittered.

“I knew you’d see it my way!” He cheered. Hana distinctly disliked being put on the spot like that. Making decisions was bad enough, but having to choose between people was not a part of her repertoire. She’d already proved this when she’d decided to invite all the Normal Boots members to the Festival rather than stepping up and picking one of them.

Satisfied with her decision, Paul, Nick and Josh started discussing tactics for the tournament and Hana took the opportunity to take a moment for herself. What she really wanted was some peace and quiet. Zoning out was the next best thing.

“…you think, Hana?”

“Huh?!” Hana blinked back to the cafeteria she was currently sat in. Josh looked at her expectantly.

“…You weren’t listening, were you?” He sighed.

“Um…”

“Maybe it is for the best you’re not joining our team.” Josh sighed heavily, then rubbed his temples. “Paul wants you to go with him to the interview.”

“Interview?!”

“It’s on PB&J, so it’s not a big deal.” Paul explained. “It’ll be exactly like hanging out with the guys, don’t worry!”

“Why would you want _me_ to join you?” Hana asked.

“Your fresh perspective of course!” Paul grinned. “People will believe you more because you won’t be as biased as these two.”

“Paul, I really don’t think I should. I’m not good at that sort of thing.” In an attempt to avoid looking at Paul she accidentally caught PBG’s eye. It felt like there was a boy whichever way she looked. She saw him tense up, ready to step in again.

 “Of course you are! Don’t count yourself out before you even try.” Paul insisted.

“I’ll be right there if things start going south.” PBG assured her.

“Yeah.” Jon agreed. “We’ll be sure to laugh if you mess up bad enough.”

Hana snorted at Jon’s addition but it did make her feel more comfortable with the idea. It would just be a room with some people she knew. No crowds, no judgement. She could handle that, right?

“Then it’s decided!” Paul pointed a finger at Hana and winked. “You’re coming with me.”

Hana opened her mouth to argue but realised she didn’t need to. As annoying as it was to have Paul decide this without her explicit consent, she was going to agree anyway.

When she’d finished eating – boy was it nice to eat lunch – Mai and her dumped their trays and headed for the door. Before they got there, Jirard appeared and held it open for them.

“After you.” He smiled.

“Such a gentleman.” Mai giggled. Jirard chuckled at her but his face turned troubled again when he looked at Hana. He joined the girls as they made their way back to class.

“Are you sure you’re alright Hana?” Jirard asked. Hana sighed. His concern was sweet but it was getting slightly overwhelming.

“I just need a good night’s sleep to be honest.” Hana sighed, deciding full honesty was the best way to deal with Jirard. “The Festival took it out of me, and then yesterday was hectic and to top it all off Paul decided to visit at midnight to ask if I’d be on his campaign team and so I’ve had that to deal with today.”

“That does sound like a lot.” Jirard hummed. “If you need me to tell the guys to chill out I can”-

“No!” Hana cut in. “I mean, I appreciate the offer but it’s fine, really.”

“Hana’s a tough cookie underneath her soft and squishy exterior!” Mai added, pinching Hana’s cheek. Hana swatted her hand away.

The conversation died down after that. Hana hadn’t had much time to talk to Jirard at the Festival because he was too busy trying to make it as perfect as possible for Hana. He was undeniably nice and honestly, too good for the world. Hana often wondered how this was an actual teenage boy she was talking to.

“Oh!” Jirard suddenly perked up. “I meant to ask you if you wanted to join us this weekend, there’s a gaming convention and we were all planning on going. No pressure of course.”

“A convention?” Hana looked shocked at the proposition. “I’ve never been to one before, what are they like?”

Jirard’s eyes lit up.

“Well, they’re a place to find out about cool games, buy neat fan gear, meet people, and mostly hang out with friends. Almost like a vacation!” He was almost bouncing with excitement. “I know they’re intimidating because of all the people, but they’re really fun! You should come!”

“Oh my goodness, we’d love to!” Mai’s eyes were glittering. “Right, Hana?”

“It sounds fun!” Hana agreed.

“Speaking of the convention!” Jirard exclaimed. “Today, I got some news about Princess Pumpernickel.”

“Princess Pumpernickel?” Hana and Mai asked in unison.

“She’s _the_ rarest Itty Bitty Kitty figure. Supposedly there’s only three copies of her in _existence_.” Jirard explained. “Apparently, some collectors are starting to think she doesn’t exist. One compiled this huge list of information about the supposed figure and posted it online, and now the community’s split on it.”

“Can’t the IBK creators or whatever sort things?” Mai asked. Hana knew she was only asking to be polite but she still seemed interested.

 “They tried! Even direct feedback from the Itty Bitty Kitty Committee didn’t calm the flame war. It’s gotten intense.”

“Do you think it exists?” It sounded sort of fantastical to Hana but if anyone was going to find it, it would be Jirard.

“Of course I do!” He glowered at the mere implication otherwise. “Why wouldn’t it? That would be a waste of time and money on the Itty Bitty Kitty Committee’s part, and it would make their fanbase angry. What purpose would that serve?”

“Well it’s gotten them some publicity.” Mai pointed out.

“Well even if they didn’t have one before this outrage, they’ll be starting up production as we speak.” He sighed dreamily. “I can’t wait for the day I have my very own Princess Pumpernickel. Can you imagine?”

“Not really.” Mai confessed. Hana also had to shake her head. She wasn’t the one who’d searched so long and intensely. She had no idea what it was like to go through that and still stay so upbeat in the event of an almost inevitable failure. Jirard seemed undeterred and continued to gush about the fabled figure until they arrived at class. Jirard saluted the girls.

“Well, I’ll be on my way! Thanks for walking with me and listening to me go on like that.”

“No problem!” Hana smiled. Jirard disappeared to his own classroom.

“He really can talk about them forever, huh?” Mai snickered. Mai leaned on the locker next to Hana’s while she grabbed her math book. When she closed her locker door she turned, and almost walked into, Jimmy.

“Ah!” Hana yelped. Mai quickly assumed an attack position. “What is this?!”

“He’s never going to find it, you know.” Hana stared at him incredulously, and he pointed from his eyes to hers. “I’m watching you.”

Hana watched, mouth agape, as Jimmy slithered off towards the staircase. She shook her head slowly and Mai let out a snort of laughter.

“What was that about? I knew Jimmy was weird but that was something else.” She shook her head in disbelief. “Besides, nothing will stop Jirard once he’s on the road to completion.”

Hana hummed in agreement as they finally headed into their classroom.

“It’d be nice to help him find it though.”

“Psh, he’s probably a Princess Pumpernickel expert by now.” Mai waved a hand dismissively. “If there’s something about it he doesn’t know, there’s no way we’d figure it out.”

Mai was probably right. But still, it was a nice thought. Jirard was always so busy helping everyone else, he deserved nice things.

 

* * *

 

The rest of the day passed with little incident and Hana couldn’t have been more grateful. However, she somehow found herself heading to the theatre to take Jon up on his offer of playing the part of ‘Tree’ in his play.

“Why am I doing this again?” Hana whined. Mai had agreed to join her for moral support but Hana had the sneaking suspicion she was also going because she thought it would be funny.

“Because you’re too nice?” Mai offered, her eyes full of mirth at her friend’s discomfort. Seeing the genuine look of distress on Hana’s face, Mai changed tactics. “You said you wanted to try to get over your stage fright.”

“I guess…” That was it. Even after deciding she had no issue joining Paul for his interview, in the days after her anxiety had had other plans. She needed to tackle her fears head-on, even if it made her uncomfortable. As insulting as it may have seemed, it was most likely that Jon had been sincere when he told Hana she would make the best tree this side of the Pacific.

“Well a tree is about as ideal a role you can get if you just want experience being in front of a crowd.” Mai continued. “Jon might be unintentionally rude a lot of the time, but I’m sure he’ll be supportive and maybe even understanding.”

“I hope so.”

Hana opened the door to the theatre, it creaked with what felt like deliberate menace.

“Spooky.” Mai whispered.

The light from the open doorway cascaded through the audience seats and down onto the stage. But nobody came. The house lights were off, only a few lights dimly lit on the stage.

“Are you sure he’s meant to be here?” Mai asked, the words echoing in the empty theatre. Hana’s face scrunched up in confusion. PBG had seemed sure and he had no reason to lie. She shrugged. She was about to suggest they leave when something made her pause.

Was that… a sniff?

Someone was whimpering. Concerned, Hana stepped towards the stage. Mai carefully treaded a couple of paces behind her.

“Hello? Is anybody there?” Her voice echoed, bouncing off the walls backstage. There was a slight chill to the air the further down they went, and the stillness caused goose bumps to creep up her arms. She heard it again, this time to the right. She turned to Mai who nodded before hesitantly following the sound. Her heart was beating hard enough to shake her vision.

A dark form emerged, huddled against the wall.

“Who are you? What are you doing here?” her voice wavered but her resolve stood firm. She took a step closer, and her vision adjusted.

It was Jon. He was hunched over something in his hands, his face pale and lined with smudged tears and sweat. It looked like he hadn’t moved in hours.

“Jon!” Hana gasped. Mai stood in silent shock.

Hana rushed to his side as he attempted to stifle his sobs. He seemed to curl in on himself. Hana gently placed a hand on his back and he froze, her presence confirming this was all very real.

“H-Hana…” He whimpered. “It’s terrible.”

“What happened? Are you sick? Are you hurt?” The question tumbled out in quick succession. Jon was always so loud and brash, seeming him so upset and vulnerable was a real shock to the system. With another stifled cry, Jon shifted. In his lap was a tangled mess of wire, bolts and... green?

“Jacques.” Mai gasped. The realisation hit Hana like a pot shattering against the floor.

“Th-That can’t be…”

“Jacques!” Jon wailed. He stared at the mess in his lap, shaking his head. “He’s… he’s…”

“What happened?” Hana asked. Jon howled, crouching over Jacques’s mess of a body again and Mai winced. Hana checked herself. It was too soon, and Jon was in too volatile of a state to really be talked to. Instead, Hana rubbed his back, trying to talk in a soothing voice.

“Well, it’s- it’s okay.” Hana looked to Mai, eyes desperate and pleading. Mai nodded her head once in understanding and disappeared into the darkness of the theatre. “It’ll be okay. He’s a robot, so he can be repaired. We can all help you through this.”

Jon continued shaking his head, completely inconsolable. Could Jacques even be fixed? Was Jon just losing it? Instinctively, Hana shifted into caretaker mode. She gently placed a hand on the sided of Jon’s head, stilling its near constant shaking, and pushed it onto her shoulder.

“Sshh, shhh… it’ll be okay. We’re going to figure something out. It’ll be okay.” She wondered where Mai had gone and hoped beyond hope that she was getting help. “Focus on the sound of my voice, okay? I’m still here. It’ll be okay.” 

Hana tried to murmur calming things, humming songs and gently rocking him back and forth. She had suffered panic attacks before. This was what her dad used to do to calm her down. She squeezed her eyes shut, praying it would work for Jon too.

Eventually, Jon’s trembling calmed.

He sniffed. Then he wrapped an arm around Hana, hugging her like a teddy bear. They stayed like that for a while. Hana was too concerned to be worried about the intimacy of the situation. They stayed like that for a while. Just as Hana was beginning to lose feeling in her legs, the door burst open and they broke apart in surprise.

“Jon!” PBG shouted. His eyes quickly scanned the room, his eyes adjusting to the low light. As soon as he spotted them he bounded over. Mai was waiting nervously by the door.

“Peebs?” Jon sniffled. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hands.

“Mai told me what happened, are you alright?” PBG asked, searching his face.

“Jacques is the most important thing to me and he’s… What am I going to do if I don’t have him?” Jon looked away and Hana worried that her work calming him down was going to be undone in mere moments.

“You’ll be alright, Jon.” PBG held Jon firmly by his shoulders. “You’re strong, you can get through this.”

Jon swallowed, still not meeting PBG’s eyes. From somewhere within, he gathered the strength to pull himself together. After another second or two, he looked at PBG.

“Thanks, guys.” He was still very clearly upset, but at least he was coherent. He turned to Hana and she nodded. “Maybe there is a way we can fix him. I’m not sure. But when I saw him like that, I just”-

His breathing sped up again, the beginnings of hyperventilation. PBG also looked panicked. Hana recognised this from her own experience and reached to stroke his arm.

“It’s okay. We’ll take him and see right now. Let’s just focus on that for now. Until we know for sure, let’s focus on what’s happening right now.”

Jon nodded solemnly. With a gentle hand, he took off his jacket and turned to Jacques – or, what was left of him. PBG had been so focused on comforting Jon, he hadn’t spared a look at the remains in his hands. He covered his mouth, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. He helped Jon place everything in his jacket, then Jon bundled it all together in his arms. After, checking there were no holes bolts could drop out of, he nodded.

“Let’s go.” PBG murmured.

They all rushed from the theatre to Bluebell House, heads down to avoid eye contact with other students. They weren’t the most inconspicuous group, but thankfully, due to the chill in the air and the lack of sun, few students were out.

When they finally made it to Bluebell House, PBG quickly opened their dorm room and Jon rushed inside. As she followed, Hana checked the hallway. Nobody had come out of their rooms. They were, as far as she could tell, safe.

Jon went straight to his desk in the back of the room, where a small metallic contraption was attached to his computer. Presumably it was where Jacques slept… or charged. Hana sat on the couch, PBG hovered nearby and Mai stood awkwardly by the door. Jon was, for the moment, not utterly consumed with grief, but there was the unspoken fear that saying or doing anything could break the spell.

Jon carefully placed Jacques’s remains on his desk. It was a mess. Jon turned to PBG who hesitantly shook his head.

“You know I don’t really know anything about robotics…” PBG said, voice cracking slightly. Jon wiped his face with his hands.

“I know a bit, but not enough to fix this.” Jon sighed. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“Doesn’t Satch work on inventions?” Hana offered. “Is it possible he could help?”

“Kakusu would definitely be able to help with robotics.” Mai added.

“I didn’t know she was interested in robots.” PBG muttered. Hana and Mai shared a look.

“I don’t know…” Jon said. Hana saw his hands were trembling as they lingered over what was once his best friend. “What if they can’t? I can’t go through more heartbreak.”

“C’mon buddy.” PBG leaned down to Jon’s eye-level. “Isn’t it at least worth a try?”

Jon clenched his hands into fists, the trembling intensifying, before taking a deep breath and releasing them. He nodded.

PBG called Satch and Mai called Kakusu. They both arrived within minutes, and upon seeing the damage, shooed everyone else out the room.

Jon paced the room like an expectant father, glancing up every so often at how the operations were proceeding.

“Jon, don’t worry.” Hana soothed. “Jacques can’t get any worse than he already is.”

“Wow, super reassuring.” Jon sneered. He was at least somewhat back to normal. 

Jon stopped pacing, instead sitting on the floor, his back against the wall. The door next to him – Shane and Jirard’s dorm room door – opened and everyone jumped.

“What the hell?” A confused, and half-asleep looking, Shane appeared in the doorway.

“Shane…” Jon whined. He grabbed Shane’s leg and hugged it tight.

“Let go!” Shane yelped. “What on Earth is wrong with you?”

A small thump came from inside Jon’s room and he was immediately back on his feet, Shane forgotten.

“Everything okay?” He asked anxiously, wringing his hands.

“N-nothing to report!” Kakusu replied.

“We’ve got it handled.” Satch assured him.

Jon resumed pacing the floor.

“Okay, what is going on?” Shane snapped. “Why are Satch and _Kakusu_ in your room?”

“It’s…” PBG looked to Jon for permission to explain and Jon just shrugged. “It’s Jacques. He’s, uh, broken.”

“Oh shit.” If Shane’s eyebrows rose any higher they’d jump right off his face. He then frowned, eyes flickering between Jon and his feet. He seemed to reach a decision and went over to Jon. They spoke in hushed tones, and despite the quiet of the hallway, Hana couldn’t hear what they were saying. They all gasped when Jon suddenly hugged Shane. Even Shane looked shocked, his arms rigid at his side.

Satch and Kakusu stepped into the hallway and Shane quickly pushed Jon away. Jon saw Satch and rushed to him.

“Well?” He demanded. “How did it go?”

Hana’s heart was in her mouth. Satch wasn’t looking at Jon and she was sure for a moment he was going to break Jon’s heart all over again. Then he smiled and the whole world seemed to stop spinning for a second.

“The operation was a complete success.”

 _“Jon?”_ The tinny voice of Jacques could be heard from inside the room. _“I’ve missed you, Jon.”_

“Jacques…” Jon darted through the door, the biggest smile on his face.

The rest of them left after that. Jon was tearing up, and it seemed for the best to give him some privacy.

 

* * *

 

Jon didn’t turn up to class the next day. Hana asked PBG if he was okay and he did his to reassure her. She still sent him a text offering support.

“Is Jon already overworking himself on the play?” Shane grumbled at lunch later that day.

“He’s just not feeling well.” PBG said. He and Hana shared A Look.

“More importantly,” Jared slammed a fist against the table for emphasis. “Where on Earth is my husband?

“I’m here Jared.” Satch sighed, collapsing into his seat. Hana hadn’t ever seen him looking so despondent.

“My dear, what’s wrong?” Satch levelled him with a stone-cold gaze. Jared gulped and everyone else turned back to more casual conversations, not wishing to intrude. If Satch wanted their help he would ask

“More books have gone missing.” Satch replied in a low whisper. Hana caught the words without intending to eavesdrop. Mai was talking very animatedly about another anime Hana hadn’t heard of, and as much as she loved listening to Mai, her brain had switched off a while ago. Mai noticed Hana’s face fall and excused herself to the bathroom.

“It doesn’t look good for me.” When Hana turned around shyly she saw Satch’s face caved in, he stared at the table. Jared’s eyebrows shot up at Hana joining the conversation.

“Hana!”

Satch flinched when he saw her.

“I didn’t mean to overhear, I’m sorry.” Hana rushed to apologise. She turned to Satch. “Are you alright? You don’t seem very well.”

He opened his mouth, but didn’t speak. After a pause, he began to chew his lip. Then something strange happened. Hana watched as he seemed to almost gather himself up; he took a deep breath, set his shoulders back, and smiled.

“Don’t worry about it.” He said. She caught Jared’s eye and she could see his heart break at the same time as hers. She wanted to give him a hug, to somehow relieve some of the weight on his shoulders, to unload the burdens he carried. But as she looked at his smile, it became obvious he didn’t want her to. Jared put a hand on his shoulder.

“Well, we’re here if you need us.”

“Thanks.”

His smiled became more genuine for a moment at the very least.

“Are you serious!?” Mai shouted from the other side of the table. All eyes in the cafeteria turned to her.

“Yeah I am!” Shane retaliated. “You keep inviting yourself to all these things but you’re not a part of our group and you never will be!”

“I didn’t invite myself to anything, Jirard”-

“I really did invite”-

“We all know Jirard was just being nice, as if he’d say no if you asked!” Shane snapped. “It’s just the same as the Festival!”

“How is this anything like the Festival?”

“There was no way we’d have gone with you, so you had to trick Hana into asking us and forcing yourself into our group!”

“Shane!” Hana yelled, rising to her feet. Hana couldn’t stand the way Shane was twisting the truth. Hana strode over to him, each step filled with purpose.

“Hana, I’m just stating”-

“I don’t want to hear it.” Hana seethed. “Mai is my friend and if you were ours you wouldn’t being saying any of this.”

Shane stood slack jawed, having never seen Hana so angry. Mai had shouted at him countless times before but this? This was new.

“Hana”-

“Come on, Hana.” Mai’s hand clamped around Hana’s shoulder. She jerked Hana away from the table, away from the whispering hordes of students. Hana could hear her name being called but she didn’t want to be anywhere near Shane right now.

Without realising, they arrived at the classroom. It was completely empty and so it would do. They sat down in their regular desks and Hana turned her chair around to face Mai. She was still angry but tears had begun to spill. She always cried when she got angry and she hated it.

“Hana…” Mai was the first to break the silence they’d been sitting in for a while. “I have something to tell you.”

Her tone worried Hana but she tried to keep her face neutral.

“Please don’t get mad at me or anything.” Mai continued. “I wasn’t trying to keep it a secret from you, it’s just… It’s never gone well when I told people in the past. I didn’t want that to happen here, too.”

“Mai, we’re friends.” Hana reassured her. She was familiar with bad experiences. “You always have my back, I’ve got yours.”

She smiled but Mai sheepishly glanced away.

“Yeah, well. I’m a…” The words escaped her and she swallowed thickly. “I have kleptomania.”

Hana stared at her.

“Oh!” Hana replied. Despite her best efforts, her surprise slipped through. Mai stared at her, eyes wide with a rare emotion – fear. Hana smiled again in an attempt to calm her.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it? That’s no big deal.”

“Isn’t it?” Mai asked, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. “I was so happy when you stood up for me when Shane tried to accuse me of stealing The Boots and then today you…”

“Of course, I’d stand up for you, Mai.” Hana insisted. She put a hand over Mai’s, she looked up and gave Hana a watery smile.

 _But what about the books?_ A tiny voice scratched at the back of Hana’s mind. She may not have stolen The Boots but missing books were easier to hide.

“You won’t tell anyone, will you?” Mai was on the cliff’s edge again, one slip away from despair.

“I’ll keep your secret.” Hana agreed, squeezing Mai’s hand. Mai was her friend, she wouldn’t betray her like that. “I won’t tell anyone unless you want me to.”

“Hana…” Mai snivelled, tears falling freely down her cheeks. “Thank you!”

She hurled herself around the desk and into Hana’s arms.

“Woah!” Hana wheezed. “No problem!”

“No, really.” Mai hid her face in the crook of Hana’s neck. “Thank you.”

Hana stroked Mai’s back, smoothing gentle circles into her jumper.

“Is this why you’ve been so defensive around Shane?” Hana asked. Mai froze for a moment then slipped out of Hana’s grasp.

“Yeah…” She admitted, wiping her eyes. “Also, he’s a dick.”

 “Can’t disagree with that.” Hana laughed.

The little voice died away and Hana smiled at her friend. Her _best_ friend.

 

* * *

 

The weekend was fast approaching. The amount of effort Hana and Mai put into their homework in the intervening days was only matched by their share excitement at the incoming weekend. Mai even _helped_ instead of procrastinating and mooching off Hana’s work.

And so it was, on that Friday morning, Mai and Hana stumbled into the pre-dawn light. Hana’s eyes were barely open, heavy with lethargy. It was chilly that morning and the two of them huddled together as they walked to Asagao’s iron-wrought front gates.

“Hey guys!” They were called over by a far-too-awake Jirard. “Good morning!”

He waved vigorously as they approached, Hana had to resist the urge to clamp her hands across her ears.

“Good morning.” Mai yawned. “Are we ready to go yet?”

Hana looked around. Jared, Jon, Continue, Satch… everybody seemed present and accounted for.

“No, we’re still missing some people.” Jirard replied.

“Missing some people?” Hana’s eyebrows shot up. “Who on Earth”-

 “Hey, guys.” The distinct drawl of Ian behind her made Hana jump. “Sorry we’re late.”

Hana skittered several feet away, making sure Mai was acting as a human barrier. Ian and the rest of Hidden Block were there, looking just as lousy as Hana felt.

“Sweet!” Jirard beamed. “We’re ready to go!”

“Wait, you guys are coming too?” Hana didn’t process how rude that might have been until the words had already escaped her mouth.

“Of course.” Ian deadpanned. “It’s a video game convention, after all.”

“But…” Hana’s brain raced. “but we’re _enemies._ ”

“Heheh. That’s adorable.” Hana was almost taken aback by the sight of a genuine Ian smile.  He brushed past her, the space he left behind quickly filled with Luke.

“We might be enemies, but we’re also friends.” Luke attempted to clarify.

“Frenemies?”

“Frenemies who sincerely want the best for each other.” Luke grinned.

“So… friends, then.” Hana did not understand these boys.

“No, frenemies.” Luke insisted, still smiling. Hana decided it was best to let it go.

“If we don’t get going now, we’ll miss the train,” Jared huffed. He was clearly as the tired as everyone else but somehow still looked immaculate. “and I am _not_ up for waiting another two hours for the next one.”

With this in mind, they all piled into the tiny train. At such an early hour, it was mostly occupied by little old people on a day trip. They watched this group of teens enter the train with something like abject horror. One lady hid her purse as they passed.

Eventually Mai, Jirard, PBG and Hana found an empty compartment and piled in. Mai took the spot next to Hana before PBG could. Hana missed the silent conversation the two of them shared.

“So… what are we going to do when we get there?” Hana asked.

“You said it was your first convention, right? PBG asked back. Hana nodded. “I can show you around and make sure you don’t get, like, lost or whatever. Only if you want though!”

The blush at the tips of PBG’s ears wasn’t lost on Hana.

“We’ll be fine, PBG.” Mai answered for Hana, turning to her friend. “Conventions are _so fun_! And I’ll keep you company, there’ll be so much to see Hana!”

“You can join me if you want company, PBG!” Jirard chimed in, completely oblivious to any possible tension in the room.

“No, uh, it’s fine.” PBG mumbled. “I heard there’s supposed to be a pregame somewhere on the second floor, I’ll probably just go look at that.” 

Hana wanted to ask PBG if he was okay, and maybe even apologise, but Mai was insistent they figure out a strategy plan and planning was better for Hana’s anxiety than simply ruminating.

It wasn’t long until the train shuddered and pulled into a station. Hana felt her heart leap into her chest, her excitement and nerves all mixed into a near-explosive cocktail.  Everyone else cheered and whooped.

“Time to get this party _started_!” Mai hollered. Mai and PBG grabbed their stuff and dashed straight of the train, but Jirard waited by the door while Hana pulled her backpack down from the upper racks.

“You ready for this?” He asked, face open and honest. “I remember what it was like to go somewhere alone for the first time, I was terrified too, so you’re not alone.”

“Thanks.” Hana smiled. “I think I’m ready.”

“Great! Let’s go!”

 

* * *

 

The convention hall and the hotel they were staying at were both located smack dab in the middle of the city, surrounded by rushing cars and rushing people. After finding everyone else at the train station, they wandered into the hotel lobby. Hana and Mai had a room together, being the only two ladies on the trip. Hana grabbed the room key and led the way to their temporary home.

Pushing open the door, Hana found herself in a bright and airy room, the sunlight streaming through massive windows and falling on a very plush looking bed. She sighed in relief, happy in the knowledge that there would be somewhere quiet she could escape to if things became too much.

“Heck yeah!” Mai screamed as she flung herself, luggage and all, straight onto the bed.

“Mai!” Hana yelped.

“Oh, my god, I love hotel beds. They’re so soft.” Mai said, face first in said bed. After fully snuggling the covers she lifted her head. “I call the spot by the window.”

“Whatever you say.” Hana agreed with an amused quirk of her lips.

They set their stuff to the side and spent a few minutes gathering their bearings before getting ready to head back outside.

“Mai… I’m a little scared. I know you’ll be right there with me but I don’t know anything about conventions. What if I ruin it for you? I don’t want to make you feel like you have to babysit me.”

“Hana!” Mai grabbed her shoulders, grounding her. “You’re, as ever, way too serious. It’s just a convention! Either we have a good time or we don’t, and then we’ll go home and everyone forgets about it.”

“But”-

“Let’s get going!” She insisted, turning Hana around and ushering her out the room.

 

* * *

 

Hana was immediately reminded of how _big_ the convention was. It took place over a myriad of rooms – free play, quiet lounge, merchant’s alley, tournament rooms, demonstrations… It made Hana’s head spin.

They headed to the main lobby to get their badges and found the guys doing the same thing.

“There they are!” Paul sighed dramatically as if they had been lost for eons as opposed to mere minutes.

“Didya miss us?” Mai said and Paul stuck his tongue out in response.

“Man, are you guys excited or what?” Jirard exclaimed for what must have been the hundredth time in the last 12 hours. Everyone started gushing about what they were planning on doing. It seemed everyone had something in particular they wanted to see.

“I heard there was a big celebrity here, they apparently starred in one of these games or something,” Mai was talking fast, even for her. “and there’s a chance they’ll go to the party tonight…”

A party? Nobody had mentioned this to Hana. Maybe it had been assumed she wouldn’t be interested.

She slipped away to the counter and identified herself to the lady behind it. She grabbed her con pass, a small piece of paper tied to a lanyard. Hana slipped it over her neck.

“You sure you’re going to be okay?” PBG asked. Hana turned to see him with that familiar puppy dog pout. Behind him, Hana could see the rest of the crew begin to disperse.

“Yeah.” Hana said with a small nod. “I think it’ll be fun.”

“Well you have my number if you need me, right?” Another nod. “Alright, see you later!”

He dashed away to be quickly replaced by Mai who easily took Hana’s arm in hers. Mai led them to the merchant’s alley. It was a giant room, every inch lined with tables, booths and (most prominently) _people_.

“Let’s get started!” Mai declared. She pulled Hana onwards. Hana’s eyes flickered around the room, darting from booth to stall. There were a few things she vaguely recognised, stuff she’d seen on t-shirts and on TV occasionally – Nario and Nokemon and such.

But there were far more things that were completely alien. Monsters, grizzled old men, designs on t-shirts, plushies, body pillows, action figures, and most of all: video games. ‘Fish out of water’ didn’t even begin to cover the feeling. It was daunting, she was completely out of her element.

Mai, on the other hand, looked like she’d been coming to these conventions all her life. Completely at ease with the volume of people and their wide variety of interests.

The two broke through the crowd at the front of the room, behind which was quieter, but still fairly busy.

“Everyone always gets so caught up in the big booths, but this is where the real magic is.” Mai said with a wink. If there was magic to be found, Hana was sure she was a muggle.

They stopped at a short booth at the back of the room manned by a young black woman. Mai spotted a t-shirt and started squealing. It looked a little familiar. On it, several boys stared back through a hailstorm of rose petals, all wearing bright blue school uniforms.

“Hana, I have to get this.” Mai said with an unexpected severity.

“Oh, are you a fan of that show?” The stall owner asked. Mai nodded vigorously.

“Tamaki is so hot.” Mai’s eyes were wide. “I would totally die for him.”

“What?” The woman shook her head. “My favourite is Kyouya. I would date the shit out of Kyouya.”

Hana nodded along politely as the two started arguing about who the best was. It turned out they both loved all of them but the matter of favourites was not to be taken lightly.

Everyone they came across was just as passionate. Hana had been expecting to find regular employees, that it would be just like a department store, but this was something else. Hana hadn’t had many expectations but it was clear this was a place where people felt comfortable just being themselves. Where they could relax, and be ridiculously enthusiastic about whatever they loved without getting weird looks.

It made sense now why the Normal Boots boys loved this place so much. Not that they were outcasts at Asagao, but they were incredibly nerdy behind their popular-boy personas. It must be nice to have a place where you felt completely at home.

As they were going down an alley lined with figures in rather unpractical armour, Hana noticed a little stall tucked away with some familiar… _kitty_ faces. She hadn’t been joking about wanting to help Jirard find that super-rare IBK.

“Mai, can we”-

But Mai was gone. Hana looked around frantically, there were so many people but none that she knew. And it was also so _hot_. She felt like she was drowning and melting at the same time and... oh god she wanted to throw up.

“Excuse me…” Hana mumbled as she tried to make her way through the throng.

“Sorry, can I”- In their hurry to see the next big thing, someone knocked into her and Hana felt herself tumbling down. She closed her eyes and braced for impact…

But she collided with something else instead.

“Hana?”

 A familiar voice came from above, it was like some kind of angel. Maybe this was the afterlife. She’d been trampled to death and here was an angel to take her to heaven.

She opened her eyes.

“Hey!”

Or maybe it was Jimmy

“Where’re you headed?”

“I… don’t know?” Hana sniffed, trying not to cry in front of so many people. “I was with Mai but then… and now I…”

“Dude, did you make Hana cry?” Luke appeared next to Jimmy, glaring at him.

“What? No! She’s fine!” Jimmy spluttered. “Well she’s not _fine_ but”-

“Hey Hana,” Luke leaned in close. The worried look on his face briefly reminded her of PBG. “What’s up?”

“Uhm, Uh,” Hana couldn’t think straight with him so close. There was no denying he was handsome but now was _not_ the time.

“Give her some space.” Ian snapped, pulling Luke back to a more respectable distance. Behind Ian, Hana could see the rest of Hidden Block in their shiny yellow jackets. If any of Normal Boots turned up now, they’d definitely think she was fraternising with the enemy.

“She said she was with Mai, I think?” Jimmy looked to Hana for agreement. She nodded timidly.

“Well, of course.” Ian smirked and Hana felt herself begin to blush. Why was he giving her that look? It’s not like she was spending alone time with one of Normal Boots.

“Maybe I could just call her?” Hana suggested. She rummaged through her bag for her phone but Luke put a hand on hers to stop her.

“There isn’t any signal in here, that’s why we all decided to stick together.”

“Oh…” Hana looked downcast once again.

“I think PBG told me he’d be in the free play room?” Jeff piped up. “We could find him and see if he’s seen anyone? He normally sticks out so he shouldn’t be difficult to find.”

“I suppose you guys wouldn’t having much trouble finding each other if you got lost anyway.” Hana mumbled.

“What do you mean?” Ian asked, eyebrow quirked. He looked down at Hana from his gargantuan perch, way up there at the top of his six feet of height.

“You wouldn’t understand.” Hana said with a shrug.

“Um.”

“So, should we go find Peebs? We can keep looking for Mai while we head over. Or we could search in here if you’d rather?” Jeff prompted.

“I’d really like to get out of this room to be honest.” Hana admitted.

“Well let’s get going then!”

It took longer to get out of the merchant’s alley then it did to spot PBG in the free play room. Hana still couldn’t quite believe that a small boy she’d known had grown so tall. He was at a pinball machine, ferociously hitting the buttons, frowning in concentration.

“Yo! PBG!” Luke hollered.

“S’up.” PBG said, not looking away from the game. He was clearly in The Zone.

“Have you seen Mai anywhere?”

“Uh, no?” He glanced at Luke briefly. “Why?”

“Well we found Hana and”-

“Hana?!” PBG snapped to attention. The game made a sad sound as the ball fell down the middle. Hana waved shyly.

“Figures that would get your attention…” Jeff muttered.

 “What’s wrong? Are you alright? Did something”-

“Chill PBG.” Luke but a hand on his shoulder to ground him. He took a deep breath but continued to look at Hana with worried, questioning eyes.

“I’m fine I just,” Hana gestured vaguely. “Got a bit lost?”

It sounded childish when she said it out loud, especially seeing as she now had a whole band practically chaperoning her. She could take care of herself, honest.

“Okay, well you’re found now, right?” PBG smiled and Hana felt her spirits lift. She could always count on PBG.

 

* * *

 

With no way of easily communicating with the others it seemed sensible to stick together until the prearranged meetup time. The free play room was equally as busy the market had been but Hana found it easier to cope with when she wasn’t on her own. Tables were filled with people playing card, tabletop and board games and people were flittering between machines and watching others, waiting for their turn.

She was struck by how out of place she was… again. She followed PBG around helplessly, exactly how she hadn’t wanted to.

To PBG’s credit, he did his best to explain all the games and get her to join in as much as possible. But she still felt like she was one step behind everyone else at every turn, every new machine, every game.

But then, a familiar tune caught her attention and she hastened her pace, PBG catching up to her easily. It was an arcade machine version of her mobile game, a two-player version just sitting there in the middle of the floor.

She knew this game! She could play it and play it _well_. At least, well enough.

“Shall we play?” PBG asked. She nodded excitedly.

 

* * *

 

PBG was… not great at Dumbidoon’s Revenge.

Hana was about to beat him for the fifth time in a row, when someone called for her.

“There you are!”

Jared suddenly appeared next to PBG, somehow sparkling as always. He was smiling but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“S’up?” PBG asked. He leaned against the arcade machine, accepting his inevitable defeat.

“Oh, I’m here to talk to Hana actually.” He side-stepped around PBG awkwardly. Hana raised her eyebrows.

“Is something wrong?” Hana asked.

“No, it’s fine, it’s just, well I don’t know to be honest…” He cleared his throat. “I fear there may be something wrong with your dear friend Mai.”

Hana looked away.

“I, uh, she ran into me and said she was on her way to her room.” Jared explained. “She looked upset but she left before I could ask. I assumed you’d be the best person to tell.”

“Thank you, Jared.” Hana’s voice was quiet. “I’ll go check on her.”

And with that, she left the Free Play room.

Fear and worry bubbled up inside her, becoming more intense with every step towards her hotel room.

What if Mai thought Hana had ditched her? What if she’d seen her leave with Hidden Block and thought her a traitor? What if-? What if-?

She’d reached the door to their room. She couldn’t hear any sounds of life from inside. Maybe Mai wasn’t here after all. Maybe this was all a misunderstanding.

She opened the door. Mai’s head snapped up the second Hana walked into the room but she quickly turned away.

“Hey Mai,” Hana offered weakly.

“Hey.” She replied. Mai wasn’t good at hiding her feelings, her nose scrunched up as she tried to hide back her frown.

A beat passed and neither said a word. Hana had thought that maybe her fears were wrong this time. She would walk in and Mai would be excited to see her, apologetic about losing her but thrilled to have so much to talk about.

But it seemed they weren’t wrong. Not this time.

“So, uhm, how was your day?” Hana asked, voice wavering slightly. It was an awkward question but Hana needed to break the silence _somehow_.

“Well, I’d been expecting to spend the day with my best friend but she seemed to have other ideas.” She levelled her gaze at Hana. “So how do you think my day went?”

Hana felt herself freeze in place. Mai seemed to be radiating agitation, her body tense and teeth clenched.

“I wanted to spend time with you Mai, I….” Hana stumbled over the words, desperate to explain herself. “I got lost, and it was so busy”-

“Don’t care, didn’t ask.” Mai stopped her. She stood, hands on hips.

Hana could understand if Mai was a bit annoyed at having to go around alone but this was an overreaction even for her. Was Hana missing something?

“What’s with you?” Hana was lost again. She didn’t understand what was happening.

“What’s”- Mai shouted the word but then stopped herself this time. She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I’m upset Hana, isn’t it obvious?”

It was obvious physically. Posture, tone, face, it all clearly stated her upset. But the question still remained as to why. Why was she _this_ upset?

“I’m sorry but it wasn’t on purpose and you’re being,” Hana steeled her resolve. “And you’re being really mean right now.”

Mai’s eyes widened.

“If I’m so mean why don’t you go hang out with PBG seeing as you’re the best of friends now!” She yelled. Hana gasped. Mai deflated at the sound but before Hana could say anything else Mai fled from the room.

Hana lowered the hand she hadn’t even realised she’d reached out with. She clenched it close to her chest.

What had she done?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well done for making it through! I know I ended it kinda rudely but eh, I do what I want. If you want to complain there's the comments or [tumblr](https://smilinggarnet.tumblr.com/). If something seems weird it's probably on purpose but if anything is too confused pls ask! Also, if you're reading this know I love you and that the next update sure will be posted sometime.


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